When it comes to an education in tennis, there can be no better school than going up against a champion on their favourite stadium court, which was the daunting assignment emerging Australian Emerson Jones faced on Monday in Paris.
The Gold Coaster was the world’s top-ranked girl two years ago. Renowned coach David Taylor, who has worked with a string of grand slam winners, rated the right-hander the “most naturally talented player I’ve worked with” last year.
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But the world’s best players have been blitzed by Iga Swiatek, the four-time French Open champion with prodigious clay court credentials, at Roland Garros and the challenge of facing the Polish star on centre court proved too much for the teenager.
This proved the tennis version of attending the school of hard knocks, Swiatek winning 6-1 6-2. And few hit it harder in women’s tennis that Swiatek.
Jones, 17, stepped on to Court Philippe Chatrier, the world’s most famous clay court, under a blazing sun and the brightest of blue skies at midday for the outing against Swiatek, who just a month ago was practising with Rafael Nadal.
Swiatek is not quite as invincible as Rafa was in Paris, but it is a near run thing, with her win over the young Aussie her 41st from 44 matches at the clay court mecca. For the record, Nadal won 112 of the 116 matches he played at Roland Garros.
As Jones was given a quick wave to half-empty stands – the French fans file into the tennis at a more civilised time than midday – experienced Aussies Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina were already a set up in their matches.
It took Swiatek, who has a reputation for handing out bagels and baguettes (sets one 6-0 or 6-1) in the city of love, exactly one minute to hold her opening service game. The debutante’s first service game lasted just as long. Nothing like putting the new kid on the block back in her place!
It was always going to be an extremely challenging assignment for Jones. But adding to the task was the conditions. The heat was of no concern for her given she is a Queenslander. But it added extra pop to the already ferocious topspin Swiatek hits.
The talent of the Aussie is indisputable and she is making a good fist of the oft-difficult transition from junior to senior ranks, with her ranking currently sitting at 136.
She has won WTA Tour level matches in Miami and Brisbane this season and produced good runs on the ITF Tour, which included a run to the final of her most recent tournament in Japan late last month.
And Jones demonstrated this capacity when ripping an off-forehand winner to break Swiatek in the third game to get on the scoreboard, which is no mean feat given the setting.
De Minaur, meanwhile, broke his English rival Toby Samuel midway through the first set and after a lapse early in the second, was able to retrieve the break immediate in a match where the stands were packed.
The Aussie had struggled through much of the clay season until a good run in Hamburg last week and while the conditions in Paris compared to Germany were starkly different, the No.8 seed looked in good knick against the qualifier.
But things get far, far harder after his 6-4 6-4 6-2 triumph as de Minaur takes on one of the emerging stars of the tour in Alexander Blockx.
The young Belgian swept past Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong 6-3 6-4 6-2 in his opener.
Kasatkina, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2022, downed Turkey’s Zeynep Somnez 6-4 6-4 and faces a winnable second-round clash with qualifier Susan Bandecchi, who upset No.31 seed Cristina Busca in three sets.
World no.1 Aryna Sabalenka likely awaits in the third round, however.