Oops, the fourth and final slam of 2016 has crept up on me somewhat – hence a slightly late Day 1 summary and total lack of preview.
And no – Federer and Daniela’s absence from the rest of the year and the rest of time respectively had nothing to do with it.
So, as tennis resumes some sort of normality after the peculiar detour that is the Olympics (sorry folks but – like golf – I feel tennis at the Olympics is a mere side note on proceedings), we reach the final major of the year.
Day 1
Shocks – French edition
A bad day for the French contingent as both Alize Cornet and Richard Gasquet fell victim to less illustrious opposition and with relative ease. Add to that exits for Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Virginie Razzano and Julien Bennetteau and it was a shocker for les bleus.
Elsewhere? gold medallist Monica Puig and Sabine Lisicki are out – but John Isner survived a right scare.
Stars
Kyle Edmund has to take this title on the opening day – his defeat of Gasquet was a – for once – justified headline-grabber.
Sulks
Me: I’m still bemoaning recent tennis goings-on: why hasn’t Halep dominated like I predicted, why must Hantuchová retire without a Schiavone/Pennetta/Vinci flourish, why can’t Roger just win one more slam?
All Things Tennis 