Athletistic / Tennis. July 28 certainly cannot be called a happy day for Russian sports. At the ill-fated 2024 Olympics in Paris, Russian tennis players have already suffered several defeats in the first round.

On the opening day of the Olympic tennis tournament, July 27, only a few matches were played due to rain. In one of them, the first Russian racket Daniil Medvedev defeated the Australian Rinki Hijikata (6:2, 6:1) and, it seems, gave the rest of his compatriots the right mood. However, history decided to do it differently.

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Sunday started very successfully for Russian tennis players: Diana Schneider qualified for the second round of the 2024 Olympics tennis tournament in women’s singles. The 20-year-old Russian defeated Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in two sets with a score of 6:2, 7:5. But then everything became much sadder: Ekaterina Alexandrova lost to Chinese Yuan Yue (5:7, 7:6, 2:6), Mirra Andreeva lost to Polish Magda Linette (3:6, 4:6), Pavel Kotov lost devastatingly to Swiss Stan Wawrinka (1:6, 1:6), and only Roman Safiullin pleased the Russian fans by sensationally beating Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (6:4, 6:4).

I would also like to dwell on the loss of Mirra Andreeva. The 17-year-old Russian arrived in Paris as one of the contenders for the medal, but was eliminated in the first round. Mirra won her first adult tournament under the auspices of the WTA only on July 26, the day of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, becoming the champion of the competition in Iasi (Romania). And a month and a half ago, Andreeva Jr. reached the semifinals of Roland Garros 2024, and it is on the courts of this tennis club that the Olympic tennis tournament is being played. However, the 2024 Olympic Games have become an impregnable fortress for the young Russian. Alas! If Mirra, in the current conditions, managed to shine at the Olympic Games, it would be a great story.

Photo source: IOC

It is worth noting that Andreeva has a chance to win a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as she is entered in both the women’s doubles and mixed doubles. In pairs, she and Diana Schneider will face Australians Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadeki in the first round. However, this match will not take place until July 30. And on the 29th, Mirra, paired with Daniil Medvedev, will try to upset Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.

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By the way, Daniil Medvedev, after a successful debut in singles, could not maintain his reputation and, together with Roman Safiullin, lost to Germans Kevin Kravitz and Tim Pütz (4:6, 4:6). But here everything is natural: the representatives of Germany were second seeds at the 2024 Olympics and came to Paris to win medals.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has allowed only 15 Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games. Seven of them are tennis players. It seemed that if the Russians won a medal at the 2024 Olympics, they would win it in tennis. However, after two days of the start of the tennis tournament at the Olympics, the ranks of Russian representatives have thinned significantly. All is not lost, but optimism has noticeably diminished.

Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic



Athletistic