French Open LIVE: Raducanu vs Wang latest score and updates before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner return

Teenager Victoria Mboko is the first breakout star at this year’s French Open after reaching round two on her grand slam debut.

The 18-year-old from Canada, whose parents emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo due to political conflict before she was born, came through qualifying without dropping a set. Ranked 333 at the start of the year, Mboko took to the court at 11am on the opening Sunday at Roland Garros and showed no sign of nerves in a 6-1 7-6 (4) win over New Zealander Lulu Sun, the world No 45 who beat Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon last July.

It was Mboko’s 38th win of the season and she has lost just five matches, two of which were three-set battles with top-10 players Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff. Now ranked 120, Mboko’s rapid upward trajectory means she is well in with a chance of qualifying directly into the Wimbledon main draw later this summer.

“I didn’t expect the whole thing, honestly,” she said. “I mean, even to be here and playing even the quallies, I was so excited to be in a grand slam for the first ever time. I remember coming here as a junior, watching the older girls play. It was such a great experience. I’m happy I experienced it in the juniors so that it kind of prepared me for the professional level.

“The whole thing is honestly kind of a surprise. I mean, now I’m here, I feel like I can do something with it and make the most of it.”

Kudos for trying. After last year’s no-change procession, the kingmakers at Formula One had to change something at the sport’s traditional blue-riband event. A mandatory two pit-stops had never been written into the rulebook before; the aroma of mystique was palpable ahead of raceday in Monte-Carlo.

As it turned out, the brains and boffins in the garages made a mockery of the regulation. Racing Bulls showed their hand first, with Liam Lawson driving purposefully slowly to hold up the pack behind him, allowing teammate Isack Hadjar to pit again without losing position. Then, Williams followed suit – with Carlos Sainz and then Alex Albon lapping nearly six seconds a lap slower than the frontrunners.

For both teams, double points-finishes. A tactic reeking of gamesmanship worked to perfection. It was all fair game – but it was master manipulation. As 2009 world champion Jenson Button put it afterwards: “It was all just a bit silly.”

Even for the drivers who benefited from the strategy, there was little solace in the leaderboard. Their racing instinct was curtailed here, at one of the sport’s most glorious circuits to drive. That is not right.

Jannik Sinner is braced for a “different” reception from the crowd at the French Open.

The Italian world number one returned from his three-month doping ban to a hero’s welcome on home soil in Rome last week. But Sinner does not expect the Roland Garros crowd to be quite so cordial when he takes on Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in round one.

“It’s definitely going to be different. I know that,” he said. “But I don’t think they have something against me, no? It’s right that they support the players who are from here, who are local here. It’s the same when I play against an American player in the US Open.

“So it’s normal. You know, I got an amazing atmosphere in Rome because I’m Italian. It’s right that the player who plays in this city or country, that they got more support. Last year I played against some French players here. So I know a little bit what to expect. It’s a different moment because whatever happened happened. So let’s see.”

Clay has never felt like a natural happy hunting ground for British players. The grass-court season on home turf, with its attendant pressures and hype, and the hard-court season that makes up the majority of each year are more familiar underfoot.

That was certainly true of Emma Raducanu, who admitted in Madrid that she did not feel comfortable on the red dirt and occasionally cut a frustrated figure as she failed to get to grips with it.

But on the eve of Roland-Garros, the climax of the clay season, she can reflect on a promising couple of months. She is unlikely to make a deep run at the French Open: the gulf between her and the top clay-courters like Coco Gauff was made evident in their one-sided match in Rome last week. But success for Raducanu – contrary to what Twitter’s armchair experts may think – is not necessarily about that.

This year has been about stringing together runs and rediscovering her natural gamestyle after some time in the wilderness. She herself called it a “fresh start” when she arrived in Rome and said her next few tournaments were about trying to “work on doing things differently to try and bridge the gap between where I am now and where I want to be”.

Court Philippe-Chatrier (from 11am)

Rebecca Sramkova v Iga Swiatek Naomi Osaka v Paula Badosa Terence Atmane v Richard Gasquet Jannik Sinner v Arthur Rinderknech (from 7:15pm UK time)

Suzanne Lenglen (from 10am)

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro v Emma Navarro Giulio Zeppieri v Carlos Alcaraz Caroline Garcia v Bernarda Pera Nicolas Jarry v Arthur Fils

Simonne Mathieu (from 10am)

Casper Ruud v Albert Ramos-Vinolas Daniel Altmaier v Taylor Fritz Carole Monnet v Katie Boulter Madison Keys v Daria Saville

First on court: Emma Raducanu vs Wang Xinyu

Second on court: Jodie Burrage vs Danielle Collins

Third on court: Jacob Fearnley vs Stan Wawrinka