As Alex de Minaur declared he had regained his mojo, James Duckworth made it a bright start for Aussies hopefuls at Roland Garros on a scorching day in Paris.
But while Duckworth progressed to the second round when his rival Gabriel Diallo quit midway through the match, three-time major quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic was overrun by American Caty McNally after starting strongly.
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The arrival of the heat, with conditions in Paris set to top 30C throughout the week in a city that retains the warmth, is the second bit of good news for de Minaur, whose best form on the shifting surface has come when the conditions are livelier.
In a break from his recent pattern, the No.8 seed opted to play an event the week leading into a grand slam and it was circuit-breaker he needed to rediscover his best form after a recent lean spell.
After starting the clay season with a run to the quarterfinals in the Monte Carlo Masters, he lost three straight matches in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, which prompted him to accept a late entry into the event in Germany.
There he posted three wins over top-20 ranked rivals before succumbing to tough American Tommy Paul in a match were he won more points, but not the most important ones, in the semifinal.
“The last month, it’s been very tough. I mean, that’s no secret. I think you could see I was feeling on court,” he said.
“From someone who’s quite good at managing his own emotions, I felt like the last month … you could definitely feel the situation I was in, and so that was something that, of course, I wanted to get out of. I wanted to get out of the slump and see the light.”
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The 27-year-old, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and then claimed a title in Rotterdam in February prior to the slump, said that he realised he had “switched off mentally” for a period and has worked to rectify that.
“There was a lot of work that was put in and … kind of the mentality was to put your head down, put the work in. That’s the only way you’re going to get out of it,” he said.
“Eventually … something clicked in my mind. I don’t think it’s the fact that I forgot how to play tennis for a month. I think it was just something kind of switched off mentally and I’m glad that I was able to kind of find that back.”
De Minaur opens his French Open campaign on Monday in a match to be played at 7pm AEST against English qualifier Toby Samuel, a player he knows only a little bit about.
But the Aussie loves the heat and while he is aware the warmer conditions will help a weapon of his 23-year-old rival, who stands 191cm and has a powerful serve, de Minaur is confident he has the conditioning to revel over the next fortnight.
“It’s great. We’re not too used to seeing … the sun come out and it’s going to be very warm for the whole first week, so it definitely changes the conditions and the playing style,” he said.
“Everything’s a lot quicker, livelier. It’s a little bit to adapt to from the cold, rainy weather in Hamburg, but I’m very excited to see the sun and the hot weather.
“I haven’t seen much of him play (but) I’ve watched his matches here (and) watched his match against (David) Goffin. He’s a big tall guy (who has a) good serve and good forehand. Obviously in these lively conditions it’s going to be a challenge, and, and I think the biggest thing is for me to be ready for a physical battle.
“It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be warm. It’s going to be physical. (I’ve) played a lot of tennis and now it’s more about playing on instinct and getting ready for him to throw the kitchen sink at me. Hopefully it should be a nice battle.”
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Duckworth, meanwhile, has been in good form at clay in the tier below the ATP Tour, having reached the final of a challenger event in San Luis Potosi prior to a title run in Mexico City.
The 34-year-old, who is through to the second round Paris for the second time in his career, was in a dominant position against his younger Canadian rival when he pulled out while trailing 6-3 4-1 and said he loved the heat as well.
“I do always feel more comfortable when it is hotter,” he said.
“It changes the conditions and the court massively and you could feel it today, that the ball flies and bounces around a lot more and that suits my game. If the weather can stay like that, I think I can play some good tennis.”
Duckworth’s reward is a potential clash against Rafael Jodar, the 27th seed and rising star of the circuit who has been in sensational form through the clay season, or American Aleksandar Kovacevic, whose recent form has also been good.
“It will be an interesting match. Jodar has made some big strides in the last few months and ‘Kova’ is a great player as well,” Duckworth said.
“Hopefully they can play for 10 hours (on Monday) and bash each other up a little bit.”
A dual-Wimbledon and former US Open quarterfinalist, Tomljanovic grew up on clay and debuted at Roland Garros back in 2014 with a run to the fourth round. But in a quirk given her background, Paris has been a graveyard of sorts since.
The talented but injury-plagued right-hander revelled in the heat initially when skipping out to a set and 3-0 lead before the American tightened up her powerful game and after snaring the second set in a tiebreaker, was able to dictate terms.
Tomljanovic, who fell 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-3, has been battling plantar fasciitis but cannot wait to get to the grass court season, with an event in Birmingham next week her first port of call.
“I’m just looking forward to putting his horrific six weeks behind me,” she said.
“I think it’s probably the worst stretch I’ve had in my career, which feels odd. I don’t think I’ve ever really lost this many matches in a row, so that honestly feels a bit new at this stage of my career.”
The duo were the only Australians of the 13 in the singles in action on day one of the first round, which stretches over three days given the Sunday start.
But De Minaur will kickstart proceedings on Court 14 at 11am. Emerging Australian talent Emerson Jones, who was the world’s top-ranked junior two years ago, has a midday outing on centre court with four-time champion Iga Swiatek.