French Open 2021: Barty retires injured, Djokovic and Federer in action – live! | Sport

Federer goes 3-1 up against Cilic with a solid service game.

Djokovic, meanwhile, has won the first against Cuevas, 6-3.

The writing was on the wall for Harris a long time ago. Norrie eases into the third round, where he may face the 13-times champions Rafael Nadal.

Some bloke called Roger Federer is off to a strong start against Marin Cilic. He’s just broken the Croat’s serve and gone 2-1 up in the first set. Norrie, meanwhile, has closed out the win …

Norrie forces a break point – and there is another unforced error from Harris – and the South African-born Briton is 4-2 up and fully in command in the fourth set, closing in on a place in the third round. This is over, can we see Djokovic, please?

Norrie and Harris are now at 2-2 in the fourth, while Djokovic and Cuevas are 3-3 in their first set over on Suzanne Lenglen. On Court 6, meanwhile, Alex de Minaur (21) is two games to love down against Marco Cecchinato in their first set.

Over on Court 6, Dominik Koepfer has completed his win against 30th-seed Taylor Fritz: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Aslan Karatsev is out, beaten in four sets by Philipp Kohlschreiber (6-3, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1). Elsewhere, Lorenzo Musetti saw off Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Norrie, the British No 2, closes out victory in the third set. Errors have started to creep into Harris’s game more and more, and Norrie has taken firm control of proceedings.

Djokovic and Cuevas are 1-1 in the first set over on Suzanne Lenglen.

Norrie’s 4-3 and a break up. I must say, I’m not a huge fan of the view from this static camera on Court 11, which feels quite a long way from the action, and makes it quite hard to track the shape and flight of the ball. #FirstWorldProblems

At Lord’s, in the glorious London sunshine, Devon Conway has just passed 200 for New Zealand v England, before promptly being run out. Adam Collins has the details here:

Yes! Cuevas, of Uruguay, and Djokovic, have taken to Court Suzanne Lenglen. Will Eurosport stick with Norrie on their main channel? They are doing so for the moment … and Norrie has moved 4-2 up in the third.

Norrie is 3-2 up now in the third set. Djokovic, I think, is now on court for his second-round match against Cuevas.

Norrie breaks! He leads for the first time in the match, 2-1 in the third and a break up.

The 34-year-old Frenchman, Monfils, is knocked out of the tournament by the 22-year-old Swedish player in four sets. Monfils will presumably reveal what the nature of his injury was. Meanwhile:

After a good wide serve by Norrie and a rally of several strokes, Harris dumps a forehand into the net, and that’s game and set. These two are locked at one set each, and although we can’t see the pictures, there is the sound of Harris smacking his racquet on the clay in frustration.

Rafael Nadal – who turns 35 today – is now pictured having a hit of his own ahead of this evening’s meeting with Richard Gasquet. Nadal has won the men’s singles at the French Open 13 times. One-three. Thirteen. Utter madness.

‘Jeu Norrie’ yet again, he’s stormed to a 5-1 advantage in the second set, and the South African-born Briton is now a mere game away from drawing level at one set all.

The big breaking news of the day is that the world No 1 Ash Barty is out of the French Open, forced to withdraw with a hip injury while a set down against Magda Linette of Poland:

And now, Norrie speeds into a 4-1 lead in the second set against his South African opponent.

Lest we forget, the legendary Roger Federer is due up next on Philippe-Chatrier, in action against Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Norrie breaks! He is now 3-1 up and in control of this second set out on Court 11.

On Court 6, the 30th seed Taylor Fritz has fought back to make it 2-1 in sets against the German Dominik Koepfer: the score stands at 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 right now as they go into the fourth set.

The Swede Ymer, meanwhile, is 3-1 up in the fourth against Monfils, closing on victory against his apparently injured opponent, and on Court 7 Karatsev has won the third set against Kolschreiber so it’s 6-3, 7-6 (4), 4-6 there now.

Novak Djokovic isn’t far away: his match against Pablo Cuevas was slated to begin at 1.30pm, but it’s now 2.10pm.

Harris is battling to hold on to this service game and has now saved those three break points for Norrie – and the South African eventually holds on to make it 1-1, moving fluently around the court and finishing the game with a sweet double-handed backhand. An important chance goes begging for Norrie, but at least he’s making his opponent work to hold serve.

Norrie holds his serve, importantly, at the start of the second set. He then forces three break points in the very next game …

The South African Lloyd Harris takes the first set against Cameron Norrie, 6-4. Nine places separate them in the current rankings, by the way: Harris is ranked 54 and Norrie 45.

Federer is now pictured on my telly, having a nice, relaxed hit before his match against Marin Cilic, a man he has faced 11 times before.

A glance around the courts: Kohlschreiber and Karatsev appear to be cooking up a very hard-fought affair: The German is 2-0 up in sets, having taken the second on a tie-break, and now Karatsev is 3-2 and a break up in the third.

Against Monfils, Ymer has taken the third set 6-4, so the 22-year-old is now 2-1 up overall as they go into a fourth set.

In the women’s singles, on Philippe-Chatrier, Sloane Stephens is in control against her much higher-ranked Czech opponent Karolina Pliskova, having won the first set 7-5 and now leading 3-1 in the second set. (Pliskova is seeded ninth and ranked 10: Stephens is ranked 59).

Thanks Will. The lunch score was Luke McLaughlin 1, tuna mayo + cucumber sandwich 0. Hope you’re all ready for a top afternoon of clay-court tennis action.

Norrie brings it back to 4-3 by holding his serve. The forearm of Norrie is, needless to say, his greatest weapon. He whacks a shot cross-court which Harris can only wave past him.

Harris holds to make it 4-2. Harris moves quickly up to the net and a nice volley wins him the opening point. Harris finds his range on serve to earn an ace but Norrie soon levels things up at 30:30, before earning a break point but the game goes to deuce. Harris does not let Norrie in, breezing through the final two points.

More like it for Norrie as takes the next game, leaving 3-2 down. Norrie bounces back by bringing Harris to the net, leaving the South African little chance to get it over. A nice easy hold for Norrie.

It’s now 3-1 to Harris. I know it is early but Harris looks in control here. The South African is not flustered by what Norrie has to offer which is mainly forehands from the baseline. Harris holds his serve with complete ease.

Harris breaks to move 2-1 up. A decent opening rally ends with Harris miscuing one from behind the baseline. Harris can certainly hit a strong ball, as he powers his way to 15:30. Norrie pings one just long to gift a break point … which is taken with glee.

Harris levels the opening set at 1-1 with minimal fuss. The South African pushes Norrie around the court, leading to a couple of errors on the stretch.

Cameron Norrie takes the first game to love. Norrie serves and starts in confident fashion with some fine forehands on the way to the opening point of the match. Harris hits one long to conclude the first game. Not a bad start for the Brit.

Cameron Norrie is about to take on Lloyd Harris over on Court 11. Will the British interest in the singles continue after today?

Monfils wins the second set 6-2! Monfils serves for the set but gives up the first point by whacking a backhand into the net. He makes up for it with a superb backhand down the line to give Ymer no chance. Monfils seals the set with a fine serve down the middle. That was a very different set to the first one, that’s for sure.

Ymer brings out some power hitting to bring it back to 5-2 in the second set. He completes the game by knocking the ball into open space after Monfils stretches to return a shot.

Monfils makes it 5-1 with a delightful backhand shot that has plenty of spin on it. It is all looking very easy from here on in for Monfils.

How I dream of lunch. In the split second between Luke departing for his foie gras and horseradish and me starting, Monfils moved to 4-1.

I’m off for a spot of lunch, and will now leave you in the capable hands of Will Unwin. Bye for now.

Monfils moves 3-1 up in the second set. His fiancée Elina Svitolina, who won in two sets against Ann Li on this very court earlier today, is watching on with interest from the stands – and looking rather concerned at Monfils’ condition just at the moment. Like Ash Barty earlier on, Monfils is seeing and hitting the ball just fine, but he is not moving nearly as well as he’d like to be.

So far today in the women’s singles: Pegula (28), Kenin (4), Muchova (18), Svitolina (5), Jabeur (25) and Kostyuk have all advanced into the third round.

In the men’s, Berrettini eased through against Coria in straight sets, with seven other matches currently under way, including Diego Schwartzman’s – the 10th seed has taken the first set 6-4 against the Slovenian Aljaž Bedene.

Ymer wins the third game of the second, and Monfils leads 2-1. That game included one phenomenal rally, featuring a couple of inspired moments of defence from the young Swede. Eurosport cut to a quick ad break, after which we may know more about Monfils’ physical condition … and the 34-year-old Frenchman seems to be good to go.

Here’s our news story on Ash Barty’s withdrawal a few minutes ago. The world No 1 and 2019 Roland Garros champion is out of the French Open, having carried a hip injury into that match with Magda Linette:

Monfils breaks in the first game of the second set! The Frenchman is finally on the board, and wins that game including the longest rally of the match, a 24-shot affair. However, he seems to stretch somewhat gingerly at the changeover, appearing perhaps to be testing out a calf muscle.

Monfils is back on court following a check by the medics. It is not clear what’s wrong, but his mobility was clearly hindered in that first set. Ymer took the first set 6-0, now will he encounter stronger resistance from the French hopeful in the second?

Ymer wins the first set, 6-0. Is Monfils injured? I guess we will find out in the next few minutes, if he has a problem of some sort. He has a problem on the scoreboard, that is for sure.

Monfils is taking a medical time-out, and while he’s waiting, Ymer gets some ice on his legs.

Elsewhere in the men’s singles: Kohlschreiber has taken the first set against Karatsev, 6-3, while Diego Schwartzman (10th seed) is currently 5-3 to the good in the first set against Aljaž Bedene.

Make that 5-0 to Ymer. Monfils needs to think about regrouping for the second set.

Ymer moves 4-0 up on Monfils in the first set! It looks like Monfils, the 34-year-old, can kiss goodbye to the first set. Ymer is ranked 105 and Monfils is ranked 15, so this would amount to a hell of an upset if the 22-year-old Swede can stay on top of his vastly experienced opponent.

An accomplished win for the Italian, seeing off his Argentinian opponent in straight sets. The men’s ninth seed is safely into the third round.

Now, our friends at Eurosport have switched to coverage of the men’s singles and Mikael Ymer’s second-round clash with Gaël Monfils, who is seeded 14. The Swedish 22-year-old Ymer has Monfils firmly on the back foot right now, 3-0 and a break up in the first set!

“Over the course of their lives, people who are managing mental illness learn in the most debilitating, exhausting way that engaging with a distressing situation doesn’t snap you out of distress. It locks you into it.”

Here is Van Badham on Naomi Osaka and the Japanese player’s Roland Garros withdrawal following her stated intention not to speak to the media during the tournament:

In case you missed it, here is Tumaini Carayol’s report from yesterday’s action, including Serena Williams’s three-set success against Mihaela Buzarnescu:

It’s all over. What a shame for the world No 1 Barty. She was hitting the ball well enough, but clearly her mobility was too much of an issue with the hip injury, and she has decided that enough is enough. Barty took a medical time-out between sets and that appeared to have helped her cause: the 25-year-old was striking her serves more powerfully at the start of the second set. But her Roland Garros campaign is over for another year. Joy for Magda Linette, who performed admirably in the first set to take it 6-1, and there were warm words from Barty at the net after she called time on the match.

Barty winds up a couple of powerful forehands. The Australian’s power is too much for Linette, on that occasion – and now Barty finds a deep backhand return to force 30-30 on the Pole’s serve. Linette, however, moves 40-30 up and then ends the game with an ace … but Barty retires!

Barty is striking her serves powerfully enough, and wins her latest service game to move 2-1 up in the second set. Linette’s level seemed to drop a bit there – the Polish player needs to shake off any lingering effects of the medical time-out for Barty and re-find her first-set form.