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Zverev in cruise control as French Open starts under blazing sun; tearful Kostyuk reaches second round
Gulf Today
|May 25, 2026
French Open dark horse Alexander Zverev started his Roland Garros campaign with a meticulous 6-3 6-4 6-2 first-round demolition of France's Benjamin Bonzi in searing heat on Sunday.
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Marta Kostyuk reacts after her victory over Maria Sakkari during their French Open first round match.
The 2024 runner-up and three-times semi-finalist, who is chasing his maiden Grand Slam title, never allowed the world number 95 into the contest on court Philippe Chatrier as he set up a second-round meeting with Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
‘‘Very good start to the tournament, it’s always good to start with a win in straight sets especially against Benjamin who can be a tricky opponent,’’ the German second seed said. The tournament started under blazing sun as fans in Panama hats streamed into Roland Garros, which felt more like the Riviera than claycourt grind as alleys echoed with a violin rendition of Coldplay's ‘‘Viva la Vida’’ and other soft-rock staples.
With temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded 13, dispatched French hope Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne Lenglen before 11th seed Swiss Belinda Bencic downed Sinja Kraus of Austria.
This story is from the May 25, 2026 edition of Gulf Today.
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