The French Open saw unexpected results on Monday, with the exit of two prominent American players, Taylor Fritz and Emma Navarro, in the first round. Taylor Fritz, who was the runner-up at last year’s US Open, was defeated by world No. 66 Daniel Altmaier from Germany with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Altmaier effectively dismantled Fritz’s formidable serve, breaking it five times at Court Simonne-Mathieu, thereby ending Fritz’s impressive 15-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments against players ranked outside the top 50.
Meanwhile, Emma Navarro, the No. 9 seed in the women’s draw, faced an even quicker elimination, falling to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 in just 57 minutes. Navarro’s defeat comes as a significant disappointment, especially considering her strong performance last year when she reached the fourth round of the French Open and then advanced to her first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open. Although she started the 2023 season well, including a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open and winning a WTA 500 title in Mexico, Navarro has struggled to find her footing on clay this spring.
Fritz’s recent trajectory included making history last September as the first American man to reach a major final since Andy Roddick in 2009, and he had previously achieved a fourth-round finish at Roland-Garros in 2022. Despite his setbacks on clay, the tournament remains a platform for growth and potential comeback, as evidenced by Altmaier’s surprising victories in past years against higher-seeded opponents like Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner.
Overall, while the early exits are disappointing for American tennis fans, they highlight the unpredictable nature of the sport and the potential for players like Altmaier to rise to the occasion. This season may serve as a stepping stone for both Fritz and Navarro as they look to rediscover their momentum on the hard courts later in the year.