Andy Murray has hit out at the suggestion that Wimbledon will not feel as important without ranking points.

The All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the grand slam has resulted in the WTA and ATP stripping Wimbledon of any ranking points, which has led to the suggestion some players may skip the tournament.

Naomi Osaka, the former WTA world number one and a three-time grand slam champion, suggested after her first-round exit at Roland Garros that she was considering missing Wimbledon as she feels the tournament may feel "like an exhibition".

Other high-profile players, such as Denis Shapovalov, are also considering whether they take part, though Russian Andrey Rublev, who is one of the players who has been banned due to his nation's invasion of Ukraine, believes the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have no concern over ranking points but are instead going for history, will feature.

Former world number one Murray, who won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, has insisted that the grand slam will forever be a crucial part of the tennis calendar, however, comparing it to the FIFA World Cup and one of golf's majors – The Masters.

Murray tweeted: "I follow golf very closely and have no idea how many ranking points the winner of The Masters gets.

"Me and my friends love football and none of us know or care how many ranking points a team gets for winning the FIFA World Cup.

"But I could tell you exactly who won the World Cup and the Masters. I'd hazard a guess that most people watching on centre court at Wimbledon in a few weeks' time wouldn't know or care about how many ranking points a player gets for winning a third-round match.

"But I guarantee they will remember who wins. Wimbledon will never be an exhibition and will never feel like an exhibition. The end."

Former world number one Simona Halep says she will put "as much pressure as possible" on herself as she seeks French Open glory.

The 2018 Roland Garros champion came through her first-round clash against 18-year-old lucky loser Nastasja Schunk 6-4 1-6 6-1 on Tuesday.

Number 19 seed Halep, who is now coached by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, has played 42 main-draw matches at the French Open – more than any other player in this year's competition.

Asked if that experience brings with it more pressure, Halep told a media conference: "Well, hopefully I put as much pressure as possible on myself because I love pressure. It's good to have it and it keeps you focused.

"Everyone is playing well, so it's a big challenge every match. We are at Grand Slam, so it's always tough. But I'm here to face these challenges, and I'm here to give my best.

"So, I will focus on myself. I will try to do what I have to do, and that's it. Then we will see.

"I will think about the next round only, and then if I will win it, I will think about the next one.

"I don't want to look further than that. It's important to just stay focused and to play the next match."

Halep will face Zheng Qinwen in the second round after the Chinese player overcame Maryna Zanevska 6-3 6-1 on Monday. 

Andrey Rublev is unsure what the best course of action is ahead of Wimbledon, but hopes tennis can "work together" to ensure the grand slam goes ahead, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic targeting history. 

Wimbledon was last week stripped of its ranking points by the WTA and ATP over the decision from The All England Club to ban Belarusian and Russian players – including Rublev – from competing.

That decision was made in the midst of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

With ranking points now not on offer, several high-profile players, including former WTA number one Naomi Osaka, have suggested they may skip the tournament.

Rublev might have no choice not to compete at Wimbledon, unless The All England Club scraps the ban altogether, but he says it is of utmost importance that tennis comes together to find a solution.

And Rublev believes the very elite players – such as Nadal and Djokovic – will compete anyway, regardless of ranking points or prize money, as he suggested tennis owes the duo, along with fellow great Roger Federer.

He told a news conference: "I don't know, because I haven't talked with any player about it, especially top ones. I guess the top players, especially Rafa, Novak, they are not playing now for points or for money.

"They are playing to be the first in history who achieve this amount of slams. So they are playing for a different thing. That's why it's very important to work together, to keep this amazing glory that we are having now, because of these players.

"If we are not going to work together, we just destroy it. What Roger, what Rafa, what Novak is doing, they did all these years. 

"They are other players from another generation, and we have to respect this, and that's why somehow we need finally to defend each other. Players need to defend the tournaments. Tournaments need to defend the players.

"Like this, tennis will grow, grow, grow a lot, because now all the success of tennis is only because of these three players, because of Roger, Rafa and Novak."

Rublev came through his first-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, defeating Kwon Soon-woo 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 6-4.

However, the seventh seed lashed out after losing the first set, recklessly hitting a ball out onto the court as he approached his chair, before slamming a water bottle into the court in frustration.

"I was quite tight, and I had a lot of emotions and I tried to really control them," Rublev said. 

"I tried to understand the situation. Be positive. I was able to be quiet and just be positive basically until the end of the first set. Then, yes, I lost my mind for a moment, and of course I regret what I did.

"It's unacceptable to hit the ball the way I hit it. It's more, I don't know, better even, if I just hit the racquet on the seat, because the ball can affect – I mean, it's not about me – it can affect someone. That's when the problem comes.

"This is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again."

Denis Shapovalov has attacked Wimbledon and the ATP for the decisions that have led to fears of players skipping the grass-court grand slam.

Canadian left-hander Shapovalov enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the All England Club last year, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic, but he will lose all his points and be unable to defend them at the 2022 tournament.

The season's third major will not have any ranking points after the ATP and WTA, which run the men's and women's tours, respectively, effectively decided to punish the grand slam's organisers for banning Russian and Belarusian players.

Naomi Osaka has said she is unsure about playing in London on that basis, as she wants to play events where there are points available following a slide on the WTA list, and there are concerns others may also give it a miss. A number of players have voiced concern that prize money could be slashed too.

Shapovalov, who addressed the matter after a shock first-round loss to Denmark's Holger Rune at the French Open on Tuesday, said he did not agree with the banning of players or the subsequent points decision.

"I completely understand the politics and the situation they're in. But if you have a tennis tournament that's supposed to have the best athletes in the world, it shouldn't matter where you're from," Shapovalov said.

"I also don't agree with the ATP to take out all the points. The most guys it's affecting are the guys in the top rankings."

Referring to last year's semi-finalists in the men's singles, Shapovalov, who beat Andy Murray on the way to the last four, said: "Obviously Novak [Djokovic], me, Hubi [Hubert Hurkacz], [Matteo] Berrettini, who is not playing here, we're going to drop a lot.

"I think they could have gone with it a different way, maybe keep 50 per cent like they have in the past or some kind of fairness."

Karolina Pliskova lost to Ash Barty in the women's final at Wimbledon last year, and the Czech described the WTA's move to strip points from Wimbledon as a "super tough and unfair and bad decision".

She will play Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, because she feels it is a tournament she can win, and at the age of 30 she is determined to take every opportunity going to land a maiden grand slam. She could become champion this year but, because last year's Wimbledon ranking points will fall off, plunge down the rankings at the same time.

Intriguingly, Pliskova said leading WTA stars could not agree what action tour chiefs should take about points.

"We had a group of WhatsApp chat [between] top 10 players and these 10 girls could not agree on the same thing," Pliskova said. "Some girls were for no points, some were for 50 per cent, to keep just 50 per cent from last year, some were for like all the points. So it is what it is."

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017 and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals a year later, suspects there could yet be a twist in the saga to come.

Ostapenko said: "There are of course a lot of rumours and talks, but I think maybe they are going to change their mind. I'm not sure about points. But I think a lot of things may happen within the next week or two weeks.

"That's my personal opinion. Maybe I'm wrong. If there are no points, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

"I feel like it's a little bit unfair to play the tournament when there are no points and you can win the tournament and then you don't move one spot up in the ranking."

Iga Swiatek insists there is no way she will snub Wimbledon due to the lack of rankings points on offer at the grass-court grand slam.

The WTA and ATP last week announced that they had stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after the All England Club decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing.

Wimbledon organisers took that stance in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which was aided by Belarus.

Naomi Osaka gave a strong suggestion after crashing out of the French Open in the first round on Monday that she may not compete at SW19.

World number one Swiatek will not be opting out of playing in the major in London, which starts on June 27.

Pole Swiatek said after thrashing Lesia Tsurenko at Roland Garros: "I have never really had a situation to play without points, and I don't really know how I'm going to react. 

"But I think that when I'm going to step out on court it's going to be normal for me, because I don't mind points. I already have so many points this season that it's really going to be fine for me. I'm okay with playing without points; I'm okay playing with points. 

"But for me it's more the political side of things, because Poland is supporting Ukrainians, and the war is right next to my country, so it's harder on me from that perspective. 

"I don't really mind about points. For me it's Wimbledon, for sure. It's one of the most important tournaments in the season, but there is war going on. I look at it more from that way than what's going to happen on rankings."

Swiatek was reminded that she had played in the Olympics without points at stake and says she would never view Wimbledon as being "like an exhibition", as Osaka earlier stated in Paris.

She added: "Truth be told, I didn't really think how I'm going to feel going to Wimbledon. The decision has been made few days ago, so I was really focused on Roland Garros. 

"But honestly, I think I'm going to be really motivated anyway, because I'm that kind of person who just likes competition. And if I'm going to step out on court, I will want to win.

"I forgot about the Olympics, but you play for medals, so still it's really important. In Wimbledon, you still have that result that is going to be on Wikipedia next to your name.

"I will enjoy the learning experience on the grass, because I still feel like there is a lot of potential I can reach, and I haven't been able to do that in previous years. 

"It's all going to be learning as well. I want to use the time on grass."

Reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova is out of this year's tournament after suffering a first-round defeat to teenage opponent Diane Parry.

The number two seed looked to be cruising on Court Philippe-Chatrier, taking the first set 6-1, before an impressive recovery from Parry saw the 19-year-old take the next two sets 6-2 6-3.

Parry becomes the lowest-ranked woman to beat the second seed at Roland Garros since Arantxa Rus beat Kim Clijsters in 2011.

It looked like Krejcikova was going to follow number one seed Iga Swiatek in easing to a quick win on Monday, winning 15 straight points in the early stages as she ran out to a lead of 6-1 2-0.

However, her determined opponent suddenly found an extra gear and started to trouble the Czech star, actually winning a higher percentage of points on her second serve (67) than her first (64) to win six straight games in the second set.

Krejcikova broke in the first game of the deciding set and looked to have recovered, only for Parry to break back in the fourth game, before breaking again in the eighth, and serving out to claim a famous win.

The French youngster will face Colombian Camila Osorio in the second round.

Lesia Tsurenko has criticised the ATP and WTA for stripping Wimbledon of its ranking points, insisting that Russian and Belarusian players missing one tournament is not a big price to pay for the atrocities committed in Ukraine.

The two tours made the decision in response to Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has sparked worldwide condemnation, was facilitated by neighbouring Belarus.

Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to compete on the ATP and WTA Tours under neutral flags, but the saga surrounding Wimbledon not permitting them to do so has prompted doubts over how many players will participate with no ranking points on offer.

Naomi Osaka said she was leaning towards not playing at the All England Club, saying it was "more like an exhibition" without points available, following her first-round defeat at the French Open on Monday.

Ukrainian Tsurenko, who lost to Polish world number one Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, was emphatic in expressing her disapproval of the decision of the ATP and WTA.

"The Wimbledon decision, of course as a Ukrainian, I think that I should show as much support for my country as I can, and I think it was the right decision from Wimbledon just to show some support from the tennis world," Tsurenko said in her post-match media conference.

"Of course, I didn't like the decision about playing with no points. I hope that, I don't know, I just hope that something will change in the tennis world in the mind of the players and in the mind of our association.

"But for now it is the way it is. Unfortunately for me, but what can we do with that?"

Tsurenko said she expressed her opinion to the WTA "many times".

Asked what reply she received, she added: "Nothing that can make me happy. I think my personal opinion is that as we see a lot of sports, they banned Russian, a number of Russian players and in tennis it's only one tournament.

"I honestly think that this is not a very big price for them to pay or to accept. I think it's not too much, it's not much, really, it's just one tournament.

"But, I don't know, for them they feel like they are losing their job. And I also feel many bad things, I feel a lot of terrible things and I think compared to that, losing a chance to play in one tournament is nothing."

Tsurenko also criticised a lack of support from the governing bodies and her fellow players, though she praised Swiatek, who wore a pin in support of Ukraine.

"For me personally it's tough to be here, just because I don't get much words said about the support of my country and this is, yeah, it's just tough to be with people who look like they don't understand," said Tsurenko. 

"It's just tough. It's just because it's me, I'm Ukrainian, and there's a war in my country and it's tough. I think five players spoke to me, maybe four or five. Maybe a few more coaches.

"I would like to get more support probably, but what can I do?

"I really appreciate the support that Iga is showing and I know that Poland in general is doing so much for Ukraine and that, I mean, they are amazing in general, the people, the president of Poland, the politics, everyone, just amazing support for Ukrainian people, for Ukrainian refugees and what I see on the TV, the friendship between Ukraine and Poland is amazing.

"I want the whole world to see that Ukraine is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I don't know if I can ask players to care more, but I would like to see that from the players, from the WTA, from ATP, I would like top players just to support more and to show more understanding of what is really going on.

"Because it's just life and life is, as I said before, more than a tennis match."

Naomi Osaka has become the first high-profile player to suggest they might miss Wimbledon after the grand slam was stripped of ranking points.

The WTA and ATP announced last week that they had stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after the All England Club decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the season's third major.

That decision came in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which was aided by Belarus.

Osaka made her return to the French Open on Monday - the former world number one withdrew from last year's tournament at Roland Garros citing mental health issues amid intense media scrutiny and having been fined for skipping press duties.

However, her return was short-lived as she suffered a 7-5 6-4 defeat to Amanda Anisimova in her first-round match.

Three-time grand slam champion Osaka, now ranked at 38 in the world, has ambitions to return to the top of the WTA rankings - and also said her dream match would be at Wimbledon. 

But, with other events around Wimbledon offering ranking points, Osaka is considering skipping the tournament.

"I'm not sure why, but I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition," she told a news conference.

"I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think something is like an exhibition, I just can't go at it 100 per cent.

"I didn't even make my decision yet, but I'm leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances, but, you know, that might change.

"I do want to rack up more experience on the grass, and I know that the Berlin tournament is giving out points, so that would be a really good opportunity for me.

"Yeah, I think if I don't end up playing on grass this year, I really want to go hard on the hard-court swing, which is my favourite.

"I'm going to have to have some meetings about it."

One-time Australian Open semi-finalist Lucas Pouille became the first player to confirm he would boycott Wimbledon after the points penalty was announced.

Reflecting on her defeat at Roland Garros, Osaka said an ongoing Achilles issue had hindered her performance, though she is happy with how she played compared to the last time she faced Anisimova, in this year's Australian Open.

"I took a painkiller before my match, so I don't know. I still kind of felt it a little, which I'm going to see what happens when it wears off," Osaka said of her injury. 

"I kind of prepared myself to feel it, so that wasn't really the wearing part. It was just annoying to me because the last time I played her our serves were really important. And coming into this tournament I didn't serve a lot, because we wanted to wait until the last minute to protect my Achilles.

"So it is a bit disappointing, but I'm happy with how my attitude was, because the last match that we played in Australia I think I was getting a bit more upset with myself, so I think I progressed in that part."

Iga Swiatek cruised into the second round of the French Open with a dominant straight-sets win over Lesia Tsurenko.

World number one Swiatek is looking to regain the title she claimed in 2020 and is the form player on the WTA Tour this season, winning each of her last five tournaments.

Tsurenko was ranked 23 in the world as recently as 2019 but has struggled with injuries and had to come through qualifying at Roland Garros.

And there was an obvious gulf between the two on Court Philippe-Chatrier as Swiatek surged to a 6-2 6-0 victory.

The Pole dropped just two points in the first three games and, though Tsurenko did claim a break back to reduce Swiatek's lead to 5-2, she was then immediately broken to love, going long to surrender to the inevitable.

Swiatek's arsenal of groundstrokes, touch at the net, and impeccable movement proved far too much for Tsurenko in the second set.

A vicious forehand return of a tame second serve wrapped up Swiatek's 29th consecutive win in 54 minutes, an emphatic illustration of her status as the tournament favourite.

Swiatek will face either Alison Riske or another Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska, in the second round.

Data Slam: Swiatek seals win 38

With wins in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, and Rome, Swiatek has served as the dominant force in the women's game this season. Including Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, she has now won 38 matches in 2022, two more than she did in 2021.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 20/13
Tsurenko – 11/23

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 0/1
Tsurenko – 0/0

BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 6/9
Tsurenko – 1/2

Naomi Osaka's return to the French Open ended in a round-one defeat as Amanda Anisimova had her opponent's number in a grand slam for the second time in 2022.

A year ago, Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros after a first-round win over Patricia Maria Tig, citing mental health issues amid intense media scrutiny and having been fined for skipping press duties.

Speaking prior to her opening-round match on this occasion, Osaka opened up about fearing a negative reaction from the Paris crowd.

While the fans in attendance greeted her with warmth, Osaka fell 7-5 6-4 to Anisimova in a tough battle on Court Suzanne Lenglen, having also lost to her in round three of the Australian Open back in January.

Having initially looked sluggish and dropped each of her opening two service games, Osaka found some rhythm and Anisimova had to serve to stay in the set.

She did just that, though, and in a monster 11th game Osaka double faulted to cede the advantage, with Anisimova serving out to love.

Another double-fault gift at 3-3 in the second gave Anisimova the break, and she recovered from 0-40 down in the next game to consolidate.

Anisimova's quality was not quite at the same level in the second as the first, but she still served out the match at the first available opportunity to dump out the four-time grand slam champion.

DATA SLAM: Gifts aplenty

Osaka's record on the clay is not particularly great. Heading into this one her record read 21-17, and she complained of an Achilles issue in a recent early exit in Madrid. Here, there were glimpses of her excellent move and racquet striking but eight double faults is far too high against an opponent the calibre of Anisimova. Both players gave up 29 unforced errors, but Anisimova fared way better in the winners tally (27-13).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Osaka – 13/29
Anisimova – 27/29

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Osaka – 4/8
Anisimova – 5/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Osaka – 2/5
Anisimova – 4/10

Kaia Kanepi kept up her strong record against grand slam seeds as she overcame Garbine Muguruza at the French Open.

Muguruza won at Roland Garros in 2016 and also triumphed at last year's WTA Finals.

However, the world number 10 fell to the unseeded Kanepi in her first-round match on Sunday.

Muguruza, seeded 10th, lost 2-6 6-3 6-4 to the Estonian world number 46, who recorded her 10th career win at a major over a player ranked inside the top 10.

Kanepi, who is the oldest player in the women's main draw, also extended her brilliant record against seeds in grand slam tournaments, having now won 19 such matches.

Among active players, only Serena Williams (29), her sister Venus (22) and French Open 10th seed Victoria Azarenka (21) have more such wins.

She will now play Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.

Ons Jabeur was the first big-name casualty at the French Open as Magda Linette produced a shock on day one.

Jabeur arrived at Roland Garros with the expectation she would be one of the most likely to challenge strong favourite Iga Swiatek, but Linette consigned the sixth seed to a 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat on Sunday.

Battling Tunisian Jabeur won her maiden WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Open this month and had reached the final of three of the four tournaments she has played on clay this season.

The 27-year-old also started the Paris major with a tour-leading 17-3 record on this surface in 2022, but she was unable to get the better of the world number 56.

Linette was broken three times in the first set, but fought back from 3-1 down in a second-set tie-break to take Jabeur the distance.

It appeared a final-set tie-break would be on the cards in the opening match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but Linette had other ideas.

The Pole - who struck 32 winners - decisively broke for a third time when Jabeur was serving to stay in the match to claim her first top-10 scalp of the season, setting up a second-round meeting with Martina Trevisan or Harriet Dart.

A junior French Open champion in 2011, Jabeur must lick her wounds after 47 unforced errors to fall at the first hurdle.

Angelique Kerber overcame Kaja Juvan in an epic Internationaux de Strasbourg final, with all three sets going to tie-breaks.

The two played for three hours and 16 minutes on Saturday – the longest WTA final of the year – with Kerber eventually sealing it 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-5) to win her first clay court trophy in over six years.

In their only previous meeting in 2020, Juvan upset the former world number one at the French Open, and the 21-year-old gave Kerber another scare here.

There were three breaks of serve each in the first set, with neither able to take control, before the German edged the first of the trio of tie-breaks.

Juvan and Kerber exchanged two breaks each in the second, though it was the Slovenian who was finding more opportunities, forcing the number two seed to save eight further break points across the set, before dominating the second breaker.

Neither was able to pull away in the third, with Kerber breaking early, before Juvan hit right back. It felt inevitable that the third set would follow the first two in going to a tie-break, and so it proved.

Kerber finally put her determined opponent away and paid tribute to the world number 81 in her maiden WTA final during her on-court interview, saying: "Well done Kaja, you played a great week and also a tough final... I wish you all the best in Paris [the French Open] so good luck there."

In the final of the Morocco Open, Martina Trevisan eased to her first WTA title at the expense of Claire Liu in just over 90 minutes.

The Italian dominated her opponent in a 6-2 6-1 victory after winning 63.0 per cent of her first serve points and saving nine of 10 break points.

Liu just could not get going, only winning 38.7 per cent of her own first serve points as she was unable to contain Trevisan, who becomes the second first-time champion in 2022 after Anastasia Potapova in Istanbul.

Trevisan dedicated the win to her father, saying: "I would like to dedicate this trophy to my dad. He can't see me in this moment but I know he would be very proud of me. He is a fighter like me during this week, but during his whole life - so this is for you, dad."

Miami. That's where this started. Where Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek were both champions at the same tournament for the first time.

Expect it to become, if not the norm, a regular occurrence over the coming years. Like Serena and Roger, and like Pete and Steffi before them, Carlos and Iga could well become the tennis royalty that reign above all others on the tour.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz heads to Roland Garros with four titles on the ATP tour this season, while 20-year-old Swiatek has five on the WTA circuit. Those are both tour-leading figures, with Alcaraz triumphing in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid, while Swiatek has won in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome.

It is a global game, and these two are world leaders, based on their recent form. The Miami Open was as recently as April, and now the French Open awaits.

Swiatek has shown she can win big in Paris already, storming to the title without dropping a set as the world number 54 in October 2020, against all expectations. Nobody, Swiatek included, saw that coming, but the emergence of Alcaraz has been longer heralded, and now that is happening too.

"Practically unstoppable". "An overwhelming favourite". What the greats say about Swiatek and Alcaraz

Martina Navratilova, who landed the French Open singles at the height of her career in 1982 and 1984, won 74 consecutive tour matches in the latter year. That puts Swiatek's current streak of 28 into some perspective, albeit the young Pole is just seven away from matching the longest run on the WTA circuit since the start of the year 2000.

According to Navratilova, the Roland Garros tournament starts with an obvious prime contender.

"It's Swiatek against the field," she said, describing the Polish player as an "overwhelming favourite".

"Clearly, the pressure is not bothering her," Navratilova added, as quoted by the WTA website. "She’s just embracing that. It's great to see – when you are the favourite, and you keep on winning."

When Novak Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in the Madrid semi-finals, the disappointed Serbian said: "He held his nerves very well. For somebody of his age to play so maturely and courageously is impressive."

This is greatness recognising potential greatness.

Rafael Nadal had been beaten by Alcaraz in the previous round and accepts there is a changing of the guard in motion.

"When adrenaline goes up, he's practically unstoppable," Nadal said of his fellow Spaniard, "but then in some moments he commits errors, but it's logical because he plays with a lot of risk. It's his way of playing, and in that sense I think he has the level to be able to win against anyone in the world."

Handling the pressure, in their own words...

Swiatek, a natural introvert, travels with psychologist Daria Abramowicz, and is learning on the move how to handle the pressures of life at the top. Winning her last five tournaments points to a remarkable mentality, with Swiatek now firmly established as the WTA number one.

"I already know that I did some great stuff this season, so I feel like I can just play freely and not think I have to win some tournaments, or I have to win some matches, or I have to save some points," Swiatek said in Rome.

"This year, the pressure that I always put on myself, it's a little bit lower. For sure the expectations around are higher, but I never had a problem to cut it off and not to think about it. Also I'm gaining experience at that. I think with more and more tournaments, it's going to get better and better for me to cope with all of that."

Alcaraz, who has become physically mightier in the past 12 months, appears to have the mental steel that a champion requires, albeit he has yet to win one of the four majors.

He is embracing the hype around his French Open prospects by encouraging title talk.

In Miami, he said: "This year, I think that people are going to think that I'm going to be one of the favourites to win Roland Garros, but I always said that I have a different view. I don't have it as tension; I have it as a motivation. I really look forward to going to Paris, to fighting for the grand slam, and I am really looking forward to showing my great level in a grand slam too."

After triumphing in Madrid, he went a step further, telling Tennis TV: "Yes, I think I'm ready to win a grand slam."

What can they achieve?

Alcaraz and Swiatek would not be the youngest champion duo in a single edition of the French Open – Michael Chang was 17 years and three months when he triumphed at Roland Garros in 1989, and women's champion Arantxa Sanchez was only three months older.

They would be the youngest champion pairing this century, however. Currently, the youngest winners at the same French Open in the 21st century are Nadal and Henin, who turned 19 and 23 respectively during the 2005 tournament.

World number six Alcaraz is a long way off number one in the ATP rankings, but at the start of the year he sat 32nd, an awful long way from sixth spot. He is skipping steps as he races up the ladder and seems destined for the top.

He sits third in the Race to Turin, which ranks performances in the calendar year rather than on a rolling basis and decides the line-up for the end-of-season ATP Finals. There, Alcaraz is closing on leader Nadal and just a sliver (3,490 to 3,460 points is the margin) behind second-placed Tsitsipas, who has played 11 tournaments to Alcaraz's seven.

For Swiatek to be champion, she must break the run that has seen eight different women crowned in the last eight years: Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Jelena Ostapenko, Simona Halep, Ash Barty, Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova.

The men's singles has been rather more predictable over the same period, with Nadal winning five times, Djokovic twice and Stan Wawrinka once. Nadal in 2005 was the last teenager to scoop the men's title.

The last woman to truly dominate at Roland Garros was Justine Henin, who won four years out of five from 2003 to 2007.

Swiatek can make it two from three, and if she reaches the title match, it would be a brave person to back against her given she has won 16 consecutive sets in finals.

With her five titles already this year, Swiatek is one away from becoming the first woman to beat that total in a season since Serena Williams won seven in 2014.

She is a red-hot favourite, while Alcaraz is a serious contender. A repeat of Miami would shock nobody who has been paying attention.

As the Big Three of the men's game begins to break up, and the Williams sisters dot the i's and cross the t's of their careers, the future of tennis looks to be in secure hands.