At the end of the day, the young Spanish phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz will take his first steps on the Central.

The world No.3 Alexander Zverev must launch his fortnight on the Suzanne-Lenglen court.

Both are pitted against players from qualifying.

"It's very hard, because I really wanted to go very far", sadly smiled Jabeur, his eyes still red in the press conference, a good hour after his defeat 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in nearly two and a half hours against the Polish Magda Linette (52nd).

"It's a tournament that I really like, I played well on clay in Madrid and Rome, it's a heavy defeat to digest," continued the 27-year-old Tunisian, very popular in her country and clearly the favorite of the public at the Philippe-Chatrier court on Sunday at midday.

With his very successful clay-court season so far and with his best ranking, inevitably, Jabeur saw big in Paris and imagined himself breaking down one more barrier at Porte d'Auteuil after having paved the way year after year.

In 2020, she became the first Arab player to be invited to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam (at the Australian Open), she was also the first to win a title on the WTA circuit last year and the first again. to win a WTA 1000 tournament, the highest category after the Grand Slams, in early May in Madrid.

Jabeur prefers to be positive

Has her new status as a serious contender for the trophy weighed?

“Apparently, yes,” she blurts out.

Nevertheless Jabeur tries to be positive despite the disappointment: "You have to be ready to bounce back. It was perhaps a good thing (for the future) to lose today (Sunday). I prefer to say that rather than being very hard on myself and wasting a bit what I did in Madrid and Rome."

From Spain to Italy, she chained ten consecutive victories.

Only Swiatek, who is in a series of 28 matches won in a row now, stopped it.

Ons Jabeur opposed to Magda Linette at Roland-Garros, May 22, 2022 Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP

By adding his final in Charleston (United States) and his quarter-final in Stuttgart, Jabeur led the dance in the number of successes on ocher this season: 17 (for 3 defeats).

Scheduled for the opening of the fortnight on the Central, it first experienced a rather quiet first round, after a quick break.

But Linette offered much more resistance from the second set and the Tunisian, on the contrary, gradually lost the thread, and her calm.

The more the match progressed, the more she struggled to find solutions and gave the impression of rushing.

Evidenced by his twenty unforced errors committed in the decisive round (47 in total).

- "Painful" for Thiem-

Back from 4 games to 2 to 4 everywhere in the third set, under the drizzle and in the wind, Jabeur ended up cracking on his serve by losing the last five points of the match - including one on a smash that remained on his side of the net. - while leading 40-0.

"We must not lose hope, because in the end we lose every week in this sport, she recalled. You have to know how to digest defeats, get good things out of them."

Dominic Thiem against the modest Bolivian Hugo Dellien at Roland-Garros, May 22, 2022 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

Unfortunately for Dominic Thiem, seeing him eliminated in the first round is no longer a surprise: the double finalist of Roland-Garros (2018 and 2019), at the time the second best player in the world on ocher behind King Rafael Nadal, and winner of the 2020 US Open, has all the trouble in the world trying to become himself again.

Since his return to competition in the spring after a long-term injury to his right wrist, he has not won a single match in seven attempts (including one in the Challenger).

Sunday morning, he scored only nine games against the 87th player in the world, the Bolivian Hugo Dellien, winner 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

"I'm not at the level yet, I have to accept it, even if it's a really painful defeat", notes the former world No.3 tumbled around the 190th rank, who wants to believe that "the key is simply patience".

Also fallen from the start, the Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza (2-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Kanepi), winner Porte d'Auteuil in 2016.

© 2022 AFP