PARIS (AP) 鈥� Marta Kostyuk鈥檚 first-round win at the became one of her toughest matches after she found out beforehand that a missile almost hit her parents’ home in Ukraine.
fought back tears after beating Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 on Court Simonne-Mathieu on the opening day of at Roland Garros in western Paris.
鈥淚 think it was one of the most difficult matches of my career,” the 15th-seeded Kostyuk said. 鈥淭his morning, 100 meters away from my parents鈥� house, the missile destroyed the building and it was a very difficult morning for me … I didn鈥檛 know how I would handle it, I鈥檝e been crying part of the morning.鈥�
She received a message at 8 a.m. and could not stop thinking what could have happened.
鈥淚 felt sick,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f it was 100 meters closer, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have a mom and a sister today.鈥�
Her mother, sister and great aunt 鈥� were in the house at the time of the strike, she said, among 17 people in total, so her relief was enormous that no one was injured.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to think what I would do if something worse happened, but I knew that this is the day to go out and play,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 cross my mind today that I shouldn鈥檛 go out, because, you know, at the end of the day, everyone is alive.鈥�
After the match, she thanked fans and received an ovation. Then she explained how she found the emotional and mental resources to play.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to keep going. My biggest example is Ukrainian people, I woke up in the morning today and,鈥� the 23-year-old Kostyuk said, becoming tearful before repeating and finishing the sentence.
鈥淚 looked at all these people who woke up and kept living their life, kept helping people who are in need,鈥� she said. “I knew a lot of Ukrainian flags would be here today and a lot of Ukrainian people would come out, support. My friends from Ukraine came as well.鈥�
She next plays unseeded American Katie Volynets and Kostyuk’s countrywoman Elina Svitolina 鈥� a recent winner at the 鈥� faces Anna Bondar on Monday.
In Sunday’s night match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, three-time champion Novak Djokovic faced Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
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The heat is on
High temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) contributed to Frenchman Arthur Gea taking an early into his first-round loss to No. 13 Karen Khachanov on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Spectators folded newspapers in half and fanned themselves to keep cool as players attempted to stay hydrated.
Canadian Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired against Australian James Duckworth after losing the first set 6-3 and trailing 4-1 in the second.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 mainly what it was,” he said. “It was getting worse and worse.鈥�
No. 21 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also struggled.
鈥淚 am coming from Hamburg with 10 degrees (and) it鈥檚 22 degrees more,鈥� the Spaniard said after beating Damir Dzumhur 6-7 (3), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect that.鈥�
The opening match on Chatrier saw No. 11 Belinda Bencic beating Sinja Kraus 6-2, 6-3 and 2024 runner-up Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 2, won 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win against Benjamin Bonzi.
Other results
Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and former French Open runners-up Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin all went out.
No. 26 Hailey Baptiste won 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6), 6-2 against . Baptiste is playing in the women鈥檚 doubles alongside American countrywoman . No. 21 Clara Tauson lost while No. 27 Marie Bouzkova and No. 32 Wang Xinyu reached the second round.
In men鈥檚 first-round play, No. 23 Tomas Etcheverry lost against Nuno Borges but No. 26 Jakub Mensik and No. 28 Jo茫o Fonseca advanced.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Paris contributed to this report.
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