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• Suriname’s Sören Opti loses first group match in men’s singles in Badminton

  Surinamese badminton player Sören Opti’s Paris Olympic campaign got off to a losing start as he was defeated two games to nil by China’s Yu Qi Shi in Group A play at La Chapelle Arena Court 2 on Saturday.

  Shi won both games comfortably with scores of 21-5 and 21-7, respectively, including separate streaks on nine and seven points won in a row.

  The first game saw the Chinese win 17 points on serve before winning 15 in the second.

  Opti is an Olympian who represented Suriname in the 2016 Rio Olympics and was selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but had to withdraw due to a positive Covid-19 result.

  The 27-year-old is a six-time national singles champion of Suriname.

  He will face Italian Giovanni Toti on July 29 in his second group stage outing.

   

• Djokovic makes dominant start to Olympic gold medal bid

  Novak Djokovic began his latest Olympic gold medal bid with a statement victory over Australia's Matthew Ebden at Roland-Garros.

  The 24-time major winner took just 53 minutes to wrap up a comprehensive 6-0 6-1 rout on Court Philippe-Chatrier, to set up a potential second-round clash with Rafael Nadal.

  Djokovic won bronze on his Olympic debut in 2008, but missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in 2012 and 2020, while he was beaten in round one in Rio by eventual silver medallist Juan Martin del Potro eight years ago.

  However, there was no danger of a repeat of the latter this time around. The Serb took just 24 minutes to wrap up a dominant first set, in which he bageled his helpless opponent.

  Ebden remained in positive spirits despite his ordeal. At one stage, he offered his racquet to the crowd, who gave him a wonderful reception when he won his first game of the contest at the 11th attempt.

  Nevertheless, it only briefly delayed the inevitable, with Djokovic cruising to the finish line.

  Data Debrief: Dominant Djokovic soars into second round

  There was no messing around from the 24-time major winner on Saturday, as he was done and dusted in just under an hour at Roland-Garros.

  He converted six of his nine break-point opportunities, while winning 14 of 19 net points (74%).

  The identity of his second-round opponent is still to be decided, but we could well see a blockbuster clash with Nadal.

   

• Jamaican Judoka Ashley McKenzie through to men's 60kg round of 16

  Jamaica’s Judoka Ashley McKenzie secured a spot in the Men’s 60kg Round of 16 following a comprehensive 10-0 victory over Yemen’s Hesham Makabr in preliminary round action at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris on Saturday.

  McKenzie, the first Jamaican athlete to compete at the Paris Olympic Games, defeated Makabr by throwing a tai otoshi.  He received one yellow card, while his opponent, Makabr received two.

  The United Kingdom-based McKenzie, who is making his fourth Olympic Games—first under the Jamaican flag—displayed his immense ability ahead of the Games when he won an historic bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) for Jamaica in El Salvador last year.

  McKenzie, 35, previously represented the UK at his last two Olympic Games.

  His opponent for the next round is Salih Yildiz of Turkey.