They feted Roger Federer with as loud as applause gets from a crowd capped at 1,000 people in Court Philippe Chatrier — when he walked out with a wave, when he hit one of his 48 winners, even when he attempted a back-to-the-net 'tweener and hit the ball out.
This match bathed in sunshine Monday meant Federer finally was back at the French Open and back in Grand Slam action and he gave the excited fans what they wanted perhaps as much as he did: a victory.
Federer's first match at any major tournament in 16 months ended with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over qualifier Denis Istomin at the French Open. It was a case of many happy returns — and serves, forehands, backhands, volleys and drop shots, too.
Showing no signs of rust, really, or trouble with the right knee that needed two operations last year, Federer produced more than twice as many winners as unforced errors — 48 to 20 — and never faced a break point while improving to 8-0 against Istomin over their careers.
Federer, whose 40th birthday is Aug. 8, hadn't appeared on the Grand Slam stage since Jan. 30, 2020, when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open.
This also was just Federer's second trip to the French Open since 2015. In addition to last year's absence because of the knee issues, he withdrew in 2016 citing a bad back, then sat out the clay-court circuit each of the next two years to focus on the grass-court portion of the season.
He acknowledged recently he has zero chance of claiming the trophy this time around in Paris; instead, he is hoping to tune up his game to be ready to challenge for a championship at Wimbledon, where play begins in about a month.
After rhythmic clapping from the stands accompanied Federer's trot to the baseline for the match's opening point Monday, he got off to the perfect start against Istomin, who is ranked 204th and now is the owner of a seven-match Grand Slam losing streak but did upset Djokovic at the 2017 Australian Open.
Federer used a drop shot against Istomin to earn a break point in the opening game, then converted it with a forehand winner, before holding to go up 2-0.
Just 1 1/2 hours later, it was over for Federer, who won the 2009 French Open for one of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
He shares that men’s record with rival Rafael Nadal, who is scheduled to play his first-round match Tuesday to open his bid for a 14th championship in Paris and tiebreaking 21st major overall. Djokovic also is slated to make his debut on Day 3 of the clay-court tournament.
Serena Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, was scheduled to play later Monday in the first scheduled night session in French Open history.
The reigning women's champion, Iga Swiatek, picked up Monday right where she left off last year: running yet another opponent this way and that in a 6-0, 7-5 victory over her best friend on the tennis circuit, Kaja Juvan.
Swiatek, who turned 20 on Monday, is attempting to become the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to win consecutive French Open titles. Swiatek did not lose a set at Roland Garros last year.
“She didn’t give me any birthday gifts,” Swiatek said of the partner with whom she won a gold medal in doubles at the Youth Olympics in 2018.
Daniil Medvedev proved that perseverance pays, finally winning a French Open match on his fifth attempt. The second-seeded Russian, twice a runner-up at other majors, beat Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, after four previous first-round losses on the Parisian clay.
In another first-round men's match, rising Italian star Jannik Sinner, a quarterfinalist on his debut at Roland Garros last year, had a far harder time. He needed to save match point to get through a 6-1, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4 win over France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
“It’s a crazy sport," Sinner said. "I’m happy it went my way.”
