Ah that's such a shame, very peculiar how despite such a chequered injury record he's always (until now) managed to appear in the FO. Certainly picked his battles well!

On the mens side the Brits expected at the French Open

 

Main. - Norrie, Evans, Draper, Murray and Edmund (PR)

Qualifiers - Broady, Choinski and Peniston

 

Norrie and Draper are due to play in Lyon next week.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been charged with a second doping offence over "irregularities in her athlete biological passport".

 

The Romanian, 31, has been suspended since October after testing positive for a banned substance at the US Open.

 

Her additional charge is separate to the one she is already suspended for.

 

Halep said on Instagram she feels "helpless facing such harassment" and denies the charges, suggesting she has been "a victim of a contamination".

 

The athlete biological passport programme collects and compares biological data to spot discrepancies over time that suggest possible doping.

 

Former world number one Halep's suspension last year was imposed after she tested positive for roxadustat, an anti-anaemia drug which stimulates the production of red blood cells in the body.

 

She criticised the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which is responsible for testing within the sport, for its handling of her case, arguing that there had been unnecessary delays in the process.

Britain's Andy Murray has withdrawn from the French Open to prioritise the grass-court season in the build-up to Wimbledon.

 

Murray, 36, has only played at Roland Garros once since 2017.

 

The three-time Grand Slam champion won the clay-court Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence in May but has struggled for consistency on the surface.

 

The French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, takes place from 28 May to 11 June.

Daniil Medvedev claimed the first clay-court title of his career as he beat Holger Rune in the Italian Open final.

 

The Russian third seed, who said he used to "hate" playing on clay, won 7-5 7-5 in Rome on Sunday.

 

It is Medvedev's fifth title of 2023 and victory lifts him above Novak Djokovic to second in the world rankings.

 

He will also be the second seed at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros on 28 May.

Fran Jones stunned a player ranked 152 places above her and fellow Briton Ryan Peniston ended an eight-match losing streak in French Open qualifying.

 

Jones, 22, knocked out American Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-3, while Peniston beat Turkey's Altug Celikbilek 6-4 6-2 to reach the second round in Paris.

 

They need to come through two more rounds to reach the main draw of the Grand Slam, which starts on Sunday.

 

Compatriot Sonay Kartal lost her match, despite having led 6-2 5-1.

French player Hugo Gaston was fined 144,000 euros (£125,000) for his fourth example of unsportsmanlike conduct of the year - more than his 2023 earnings.

 

He dropped a spare ball from his pocket on to the court when opponent Borna Coric was about to smash a winner on set point at the Madrid Open in April.

 

If a second ball is deemed to have interfered with play, the umpire calls a let and the point is replayed.

 

Gaston, 22, appealed against the fine, which will be halved with conditions.

 

The governing body of men's tennis, the ATP, said the size of the fine reflected the fact the Frenchman - who ended up losing the match in straight sets to Coric - had been previously warned about similar incidents.

Simona Halep has accused tennis' doping authority of "publicly stating one thing while privately doing another" by requesting a further delay to her hearing.

 

Halep was charged with a second doping offence last week over "irregularities" in her biological passport.

 

The Romanian, 31, has been suspended since October after testing positive for a banned substance at the US Open.

 

The second charge is separate to the one for which she is already suspended.

 

In a statement on Twitter, 2019 Wimbledon champion Halep said the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had requested a third delay.

 

Halep, who denies the charges, said she was "extremely shocked and disappointed by the ITIA's attitude".

 

"While the ITIA via their representative Nicole Sapstead was publicly stating three days ago that the ITIA 'has remained committed to engaging Mrs Halep in an empathetic, efficient and timely manner', they were at the same time officially requesting the tribunal to delay my hearing... for the third time," Halep said.

 

"The ITIA publicly states one thing while privately doing another, I have repeatedly asked for my hearing and the ITIA has repeatedly sought to delay it.

 

"When is it going to stop? I ask the question once again. I am entitled to a quick hearing. Acting this way is contrary to my rights."

 

French Open Men's Odds: (Coral)

 

Carlos Alcaraz 6-4f

Novak Djokovic 23-10

Holger Rune 8-1

Danill Medvedev 9-1

Stefanos Tsitsipas 12-1

Jannik Sinner 14-1

Casper Ruud 20-1

Alexander Zverev 33-1

Andrey Rublev 40-1

Dominic Thiem 66-1

Cameron Norrie 100-1

Felix Auger-Aliassime 100-1

Lorenzo Musetti 100-1

Taylor Fritz 100-1

 

French Open Women's Odds: (Coral)

 

Iga Swaitek 10-11f

Aryna Sabalenka 6-1

Elena Rybakina 6-1

Barbora Krejcikova 18-1

Paula Badosa 20-1

Jelena Ostapenko 25-1

Cori Gauff 25-1

Ons Jabeur 28-1

Jessica Pegula 33-1

Markéta Vondrusova 33-1

Maria Sakkari 40-1

Veronika Kudermetova 40-1

Caroline Gracia 50-1

Beatriz Haddad Maia 66-1

Daria Kasatkina 66-1

Karolina Muchova 66-1

Qinwen Zheng 66-1

Anhelina Kalinina 80-1

Anastasia Potapova 80-1

Belinda Bencic 80-1

Karolina Pliskova 100-1

Liudmila Samsonova 100-1

Petra Kvitova 100-1

Alcaraz fave is very strange given he's never even reaches the semis before. Ruud would be a good shout given he made the final last year and his conqueror is not competing this year. Will probably just be another easy stroll for Novak though.

Djokovic would be my banker for the French Open, a little each-way also on Sinner.

 

 

British number one Cameron Norrie reached his third successive semi-final at the clay-court Lyon Open but compatriot Jack Draper was knocked out.

 

Defending champion Norrie regained focus after a mid-match slump to beat Sebastian Baez 6-2 2-6 6-1.

 

"I tried to reset and come out with a lot of energy," Norrie said.

 

The 27-year-old now faces Argentine fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo, who came back from a set and a break down to beat Draper 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Draw for the Men's Singles:

 

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/results/SM?round=1

Draw for the Women's Singles:

 

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/results/SD?round=1

 

 

Russian doubles player Yana Sizikova has been cleared of match-fixing two years after her arrest at the French Open, according to her lawyer.

 

The 28-year-old was arrested at Roland Garros in 2021 as part of an investigation into match-fixing allegations dating back to the 2020 edition of the Grand Slam.

 

Sizikova, ranked 50th in doubles, has continued to play on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour since her arrest and will compete at this year's French Open, which starts on Sunday.

 

Kyrgios left SHAKING.

Britons Jamie Murray and Joe Salisbury both enjoyed doubles success with their respective partners before the French Open, which starts on Sunday.

 

Murray and Michael Venus of New Zealand triumphed in the Geneva Open to win their third title of the year.

 

The pair had to work hard to defeat third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3).

 

Salisbury and Rajeev Ram claimed their first title of the season together with victory in the ATP Tour event in Lyon.

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk was booed off court for avoiding a handshake with Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian's first-round win at the French Open.

 

Second seed Sabalenka delivered a dominant performance to win 6-3 6-2.

 

Belarus is an ally of Russia and allowed troops to use its territory to launch last year's invasion of Ukraine.

 

"I think she didn't deserve to leave the court that way," Australian Open champion Sabalenka said of her opponent.

 

The pair did not have the traditional pre-match photo following the coin toss. After Sabalenka sealed victory, Kostyuk walked straight to shake the umpire's hand and then to her chair, prompting boos from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

 

Sabalenka was startled by the initial booing, thinking it was directed at her, before realising it was aimed at world number 28 Kostyuk when the crowd again booed as the Ukrainian left the court.