Paris, France, 27 May 2025 | AAP

As if motivated by all the excitement over the nation’s newest tennis star Maya Joint, the evergreen Ajla Tomljanovic got “angry” and reminded Australia of her own enduring quality as she handed a lesson to her teenage pal at Roland Garros.

On a day when Alexei Popyrin ended his drought in Paris and Daria Kasatkina savoured her first Grand Slam win under the Australian flag, the sight of three of the green-and-gold brigade powering into the second round even before Alex de Minaur makes his bow on Tuesday provided many positives.

It was a tougher day for six of the other nine Australians in action on a manic Monday in the French capital, with Aleksandar Vukic, Chris O’Connell, Daria Saville, Kim Birrell and  Jordan Thompson all succumbing.

But pride of place went to Tomljanovic, who at age 32 looked as sharp as she’s ever done in outplaying the new teenage Morocco Open champion Joint 6-1 6-3.

Joint, the 19-year-old Queenslander who’s had a whirlwind 72 hours while winning her first two WTA titles in singles and doubles in Morocco, had defeated Tomljanovic three days earlier in Rabat, when former Australian No.1 Tomljanovic withdrew when a set down with an abdominal concern.

> READ: Joy for Joint – Maja claims first WTA title 

But the three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist looked a completely different proposition on Monday as she switched to all-out attack against the 19-year-old Roland Garros debutant on the faster Paris clay.

Asked if she had a point to prove, Tomljanovic explained: “My coach kind of gave me a really good pep talk – ‘You’ve got to get angry, get determined’ – and it really worked today.

“Maya had been playing so well, I had a few days to think about it and knew if I don’t come out this way on the attack, it’s going to be really tough. It’s just nice to see everything pay off when I play the right way.”

Tomljanovic set a high-profile match against fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, the Italian who’s become a big favourite with the locals since reaching the final last year.

Kastakina, playing in her first Slam since switching her allegiance in March, had to work hard to subdue the world’s top doubles player, Czech Katerina Siniakova, 6-1 3-6 6-2.

“To play my first Grand Slam under the Australian flag, it’s big honour. Yeah, [I] just feel super happy and proud to also win the first match,” said the 2022 Roland Garros semifinalist.

Earlier, Popyrin had ended his challenging sequence at Roland Garros for his first opening-round win at the claycourt Slam in six years as he was in command against Yoshihito Nishioka until the Japanese had to retire with an injured back while trailing 7-5 6-4 1-2.

Popyrin reckoned it was a “nice feeling” to claim the first 2025 match for the 16-strong Australian contingent, the biggest at Roland Garros for 35 years.

“I feel like my game is starting to come back to me, the results are starting to show a bit more, there’s more consistency and match wins every week. That’s really important,” said the 25th seed, who tackles another left-hander, Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, next.

> READ: Popyrin progresses to Roland Garros second round 

Thompson bemoaned another blip in a “brutal season” during which he’s suffered a ruptured plantar fascia in his foot, a torn oblique, and a groin injury, as Czech Jiri Lehecka claimed a 6-4 6-2 6-1 win in their first round.

“The only positive from today is the body got through unscathed, but I guess that’s because I copped a whipping,” lamented the 31-year-old.

Seeded opponents proved too much for O’Connell, beaten 7-5 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by the No.22 Ugo Humbert, Vukic, defeated 6-4 6-4 6-4 by No.24 Karen Khachanov, and qualifier Saville, who was outclassed 6-2 6-1 by Australian Open champ Madison Keys.

Gold Coast’s Kim Birrell also found the in-form Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, who’d been beaten by Joint in the Rabat final, too tough in a 6-1 6-0 loss.

AUSSIES IN ACTION

Men’s singles, first round
[9] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Laslo Djere (SRB) – first match, Court 14 (from 7pm AEST)
James Duckworth (AUS) v Alexander Bublik (KAZ) – second match, Court 12
Adam Walton (AUS) v [Q] Maximilian Marterer (GER) – third match, Court 12

Women’s singles, first round
Olivia Gadecki (AUS) v [2] Coco Gauff (USA) – second match, Court Philippe-Chatrier

> READ: Roland Garros Order of Play