Halep into French Open 2nd round; Venus, Goffin out

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Alexander Zverev of Germany hits a return during the men's singles first round match against Dennis Novak of Austria at French Open tennis tournament 2020 at Roland Garros in Paris, France, Sept. 27, 2020. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)

Italian teenager Jannick Sinner made his Roland-Garros debut with an impressive 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over 11th seed David Goffin on Sunday, while women's top seed Simona Halep celebrated her 29th birthday with a straight-set victory over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo.

The match between Sinner and Goffin was the first match under the new roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, as the first day of this year's French Open turned out to be a stormy one.

"The conditions are not easy. It's quite slow. The roof, obviously it helps a lot. especially in the next week, you never know if it's raining or not," said the Sinner.

The Italian rising star ripped 11 games in a row to defeat the Belgian for the second time in as many head-to-head meetings.

"At the beginning, it's never easy, especially at the beginning of a new tournament. It's the first time for me here at Roland-Garros," the 19-year-old said.

"It's obviously an honor to play at the center court, playing against David, he is a great player. I know him very well, we're good friends, so it's not easy."

Former world No. 1 Halep, who has just clinched the title in Rome earlier this week, cruised past Tormo 6-4, 6-0 to advance, at the same time extended his winning streak to 15 matches in a row.

"I'm really pleased with the victory. It's always tough to start the tournament. I was a bit nervous. She played really well in the first set, she didn't miss. Then I just found the rhythm," said the 2018 champion.

As required by the government, the maximum limit of attendees per day at this year's French Open has shrunk to only 1,000 in response to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in and around Paris.

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