Tennis

French Open 2023 Lucky Losers

The qualifiers always have some interesting match-ups, and the French Open 2023 will be no exception. Some rising stars and veterans who are not well-ranked but always put on a good show will compete in this phase for a place in the first round at Roland Garros 2023.

Luck Losers Pedro Cachin
Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ABACAPRESS.COM – Photo by Icon sport

But what about those who lose in the qualifying round, do they have an extra chance to be present at the second Grand Slam of the year? What is a Lucky Loser? Read on to find out the answer to those questions.

2023 French Open Lucky Losers

After the end of the qualifying phase, organisers of Roland Garros 2023 made the draw to define the Lucky Losers. Let’s take a look at some of the Lucky Losers who will be present at the French Open 2023 and how they will perform in each phase.

ATP Lucky Losers

Jurij Rodoniov (Out in 1st Round)

The Austrian tennis player is 24 years old and is currently ranked 134th in the ATP rankings. After passing 2 rounds of qualifying, he faced Frenchman Lucas Pouille.

Although Rodoniov won the first set 1-6, Pouille turned the score around 7-5 6-0. The draw paired the Austrian player once again against the Frenchman, so he must do better if he wants to get past the first round. 

1st Round: Jurij Rodoniov defeated by Lucas Pouille 6-2 6-4 6-3

Despite having another chance, Rodoniov lost for the second time in a row to the same opponent. This time it was even worse as the Austrian player did not win a single set, even though they played 3 sets.

Facundo Diaz Acosta (Out 1st Round)

The Argentine tennis player lost on the last day of the qualifiers to Austrian Sebastian Ofner. The first set was very close and ended 7-5 in favour of Ofner, who was more solid in the second half, winning 6-3.

After being chosen as one of the French Open Lucky Losers, this will be the first time Facundo will play in the first round of a Grand Alam, as he had previously lost in the first qualifying rounds. His first opponent will be Australian Kubler.

Facundo Díaz Acosta defeated by Jason Kubler 1-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-1

The Argentine tennis player was close to advance to the Roland Garros second round, having an intense battle until the fourth set. In the last decisive set, Facundo Diaz Costa did not keep pace, and Jason Kubler took advantage to sweep and take the victory.

Dominic Stricker (Out in 1st Round)

Striker had a very solid first match against Czech Dalibor Avecina, whom he defeated in straight sets. Then the Argentinian Thiago Tirante crossed his path to delay his desire to participate in Roland Garros 2023.

Fortunately, Dominic was one of the winners of the draw and will now play in the first round of the 2023 French Open. He will now face a top 20 player.

Dominic Striker defeated by Tommy Paul 6-3 6-2 6-4

The Swiss player’s adventure at the French Open 2023 was short-lived, taking just 1 hour and 50 minutes for Tommy Paul to dispose of Striker. Dominic barely converted a single break point during the three sets, bowing out of the tournament with a disappointing performance.

WTA Lucky Losers

Aliona Bolsova (Out 2nd Round)

71st in the WTA rankings struggled to overcome the first challenge of the qualifiers. In fact, she needed three sets to see off Chloe Paqet of France. Bolsova then faced Tamara Zidanske, but the Spanish player failed to win a single set. Zidanske remained solid, knocking Aliona out of the competition in straight sets.

1st Round: Aliona Bolsova defeated Kristina Kucova 6-2 6-1

2nd Round: Aliona Bolsova defeated by Anna Schmiedlova 6-3 6-4

The Spanish tennis player’s adventure came to an end after five matches at Roland Garros 2023. Alina Bolsova said goodbye to the tournament with three wins and two defeats.

The last of them was before the Slovakian Anna Schmiedlova who took the victory in a very even match. Although Bolsova converted 3 breakpoints, Schmiedlova converted 5. The final result was 6-3 6-4 in favour of Anna.

Nao Hibino (Out First Round)

Hibino’s resounding 6-1 6-1 win over Greece’s Grammatikopoulou suggested that the Japanese would be able to sweep the rest of her opponents in the qualifiers.

In fact, in her next match against Ylena In-Albon, she started by winning the first set 6-1. However, the Swiss player turned the match around to win 2-6 4-6, leaving Hibino momentarily out of the match.

1st Round: Nao Hibino defeated by Anna-Lena Friedsam

She did her best to make the most of the opportunity she had as one of the French Open Lucky Losers. For 2 hours and 30 minutes, she was battling with the German player Anna Schmiedlova, who started the duel by converting a break point to take the first set.

In the second she did the same but, Hibino turned the second set around by converting 2 break points. In the third it seemed that the Japanese player would take the victory as she converted two more break points and was leading 3-0, but the German tennis player was again on top and converted 3 break points to take the victory.

Elina Avanesyan (Out Round of 16)

The Russian tennis player had the best performance of all the Lucky Losers at the French Open 2023. After seven matches she had 5 wins and 2 losses. Avanesyan had a great performance against Karolina Muchova, in fact, she converted a total of 4 breakpoints. However, her defence was not the best and Muchova converted 7 breakpoints.

Although her adventure ended in the round of 16 at Roland Garros 2023, Elina Avanesyan will enter the top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time in the next update.

1st Round: Elina Avanesyan defeated Belinda Bencic 6-3 2-6 6-4

2nd Round: Elina Avanesyan defeated Leolia Jeanjean 6-0 7-5

3rd Round: Elina Avanesyan defeated Clara Tauson 3-6 6-1 7-5

Round of 16: Avanesyan defeated by Karolina Muchova 6-4 6-3

Avanesyan will play in the Grand Slam round of 16 for the first time. So far, the 20-year-old has performed well in the major WTA tournaments she has participated in this season.

After what she has done so far at Roland Garros 2023, the 20-year-old will be in the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time. She closes her next duel with Karolina Muchova, she will get even closer to the top 50.

This will be the first time Avanesyan will face Muchova, ranked number 19. This will undoubtedly be the toughest test that the only Lucky Loser, who is still in the competition, will have so far.

What is a Lucky Loser? 

Often some players who have already qualified for the first round withdraw just before the first round starts. The reasons vary, but usually, the main cause is physical issues, whether it is a last-minute injury or an illness that prevents them from performing at 100%.

So, how do you fill those empty slots? That’s where the Lucky Losers come in, which in short are those players who lost in the qualifying round, and have the opportunity to be the replacement for those players who withdraw at the last minute.

One of the most recent Lucky Losers was Jan-Lennard Struff, who came close to achieving a great feat at the Madrid Open. After being defeated in Q2 by Aslan Karatsev, the German player was ready to return home, but the withdrawal of Italian Fabio Fognini gave Struff the opportunity to play in the first round of the Madrid Open. 

Struff did not waste the opportunity and left Sonego, Lajovic, and Tsitsipas, and even got revenge by defeating Karatsev in the semi-finals. Jan-Lennard faced Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid Open Final, and despite winning a set, he did not resist the powerful play of the Spaniard.

Rules to Choose Lucky Losers at Roland Garros 2023

The Lucky Losers rule at any of the Grand Slams is that those eliminated in the final qualifying round will be considered in the event of a withdrawal. The top 5 ranked players who lose in Q3 will be drawn to compete for one of the vacated spots.

Historical French Open Lucky Losers

At last year’s French Open, there were a total of three Lucky Losers. Franco Agamenone, Pedro Cachin, and Juan Ignacio Londero. Londero was drawn in the first round against Carlos Alcaraz, and couldn’t even win a set. Agamenone lost immediately in the first round to Mackenzie McDonald. Cachin was the only one to get past the first round but then lost to Hugo Gaston in straight sets.

David Goffin Roland Garros 2012

The Belgian had a great performance at that year’s French Open, reaching the quarter-finals. Roger Federer was in charge of putting an end to his Grand Slam adventure.

Stanislav Birner – 1978

The Czech tennis player made it through a total of rounds after being chosen as Lucky Loser. Once in the round of 16, Birner faced Italian Corrado Barazzutti, who won in straight sets.

Best Lucky Losers Ever

Andrey Rublev
2017 in Milan, Italy.
Photo : Ipp / Icon Sport

Andrey Rublev – Umag 2017

When he was just 19 years old, the Russian lost in the Umag qualifiers to Attila Balazos, but was drawn in the first round against Carlos Berlocq when he made the list as a Lucky Loser. With five straight wins, including one against Fabio Fognini, Ruble went on to win the title.

Soo-Woo Kwon – Adelaide II 2022

One of the most recent Lucky Losers to become champion was the South Korean, who lost in the qualifying round to Czech Tomas Machaca. Coincidentally, Kwon was paired with Macha in the first round, where he retaliated, starting a winning streak that would lead him to the title.


Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!