French Open: Home woes to continue after Tsonga loses?

The French love their tennis.

The number of registered players from the start of 2017 – 2,606, according to statistics provided by the ITF – is only fractionally less than that of another grand slam nation with a population about five times as big, the US. Non-registered players surely swell the figures, especially since courts are plentiful.

How it must hurt the locals, then, to not have a French winner at the French Open in 17 years.

The drought on the men’s side dates back further, to 1983, and appears set to continue after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – likely the top hope for Les Bleus – suffered a first-round exit at a major for the first time since falling to Andy Roddick at the Australian Open 10 years ago.

His conqueror Wednesday doesn’t match the pedigree of Roddick, a former No. 1.

Rather he is an Argentinian ranked 91st.

READ: Kvitova exits

READ: The pros on Paris

But Renzo Olivo still had enough to see off Tsonga 7-5 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 on Philippe Chatrier court in a tussle that was suspended by darkness at 9:55 p.m. Paris time Tuesday.

Olivo – who spent teenaged years training at the Mouratoglou Academy when it was based near Paris – only needed one game to oust the twice tournament semifinalist upon the resumption.

It was only the second grand slam victory of his career.

A lot has changed since a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal became only the second man in history to win Roland Garros at the first attempt. The bulging biceps, long hair and headband remain, but the Spaniard's sense of style has certainly changed.

2005 —

Nadal went into his first French Open as an inexperienced 18-year-old and emerged a grand slam champion -- beating Roger Federer in the semifinals on his 19th birthday. The 2005 season was the birth of what would go on to be Nadal's classic look: sleeveless top and three-quarter length shorts.

2006 —

By the following year, Nadal had cemented his place among tennis' elite and was developing a fearsome reputation on clay. This time wearing a slightly less garish light blue, Nadal picked up his second consecutive French Open title by becoming the first man to beat Roger Federer in a grand slam final.

2007 —

In 2007, the then 20-year-old Nadal's status as the 'King of Clay' was sealed. Defeat to Federer at the Masters Series in Hamburg ended an 81-match unbeaten streak on clay, which remains a men's Open Era record today. At that year's French Open, Nadal opted for the reverse of 2006's top-bandana combo -- this time with matching trainers to boot.

2008 —

A year later, Nadal opted for a variation on his debut French Option look, this time sporting an all-green combo. Nadal reached world No. 1 for the first time in his career in 2008, helped by his fourth consecutive Roland Garros title -- matching Bjorn Borg's record of consecutive trophies, while also becoming only the seventh man to win a grand slam without dropping a set.

2009 —

Nadal's first dramatic transformation came in 2009. Gone were the sleeveless shirts and three-quarter lengths, in came the sleeves and fluorescent, clashing colors. Perhaps it was the sleeves restricting the powerful arms (or maybe a knee injury), but Nadal suffered the first of only two French Open defeats. Despite a shock fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling, Nadal set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros.

2010 —

In 2010, Nadal bounced back from the 2009 disappointment with a daring multicolored number. He went on to exact revenge on Soderling, beating him in the final after the Swede had upset Federer in the quarterfinals. Federer's failure to reach the semis meant Nadal regained the world No. 1 spot, while it was also the second time he won the French Open without dropping a set.

2011 —

The following year, Nadal dialed down the brightness, instead choosing to return to one of his earliest Roland Garros styles. And it worked -- he maintained his No. 1 ranking throughout the clay court season and beat perennial rival Federer in the final.

2012 —

Perhaps in an attempt to gain the upper hand on opponents by blending into the clay, Nadal opted for an orange-ish-red look for the first time at the French Open. It appeared to work, as Nadal dropped just 30 games in the first five rounds, before beating Djokovic in four sets in the final to claim his seventh Roland Garros title and surpass Borg as the tournament's most successful player.

2013 —

The 2013 French Open was the debut of Nadal's latest wardrobe change: the short shorts. In an all-Spanish final, Nadal defeated David Ferrer in straight sets -- although bizarrely dropped from fourth in the world to fifth after his victory.

2014 —

Perhaps a sign of entering into his late 20s, Nadal's colors switched from fluorescent to more mellow tones. Despite being hampered by injuries and suffering surprise defeats early in the clay court season, Nadal grinded out arguably his most impressive Roland Garros victory. Another victory in the final against Djokovic took him to 14 grand slams (level with Pete Sampras) and it was his fifth straight French Open triumph.

2015 —

Nadal's struggle to find form continued into 2015's clay court season, dropping outside of the world's top five for the first time since 2005. Looking like an athletic version of the Cookie Monster, Nadal crashed out of the French Open in the quarterfinals to Djokovic. It ended his 39-match unbeaten run and marked just his second defeat on the Parisian clay.

2016 —

The following year, the shorts got even shorter and the two-tone top returned as Nadal exited the French Open in the third round -- although this time it was a wrist injury that defeated him. Despite the disappointment, there was another milestone for Nadal as he became only the eighth man to reach 200 grand slam wins.

2017 —

Nadal debuted his strong blue look against Benoit Paire in the first round and the King of Clay went on to complete "'La Decima" of 10 Roland Garros titles.

French Open: Rafael Nadal's Roland Garros evolution

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Even after Olivo blinked – in the third set tiebreak and serving at 5-3 in the fourth – Tsonga ultimately couldn’t take advantage.

The new dad managed to save three straight match points serving at 4-5, 0-40, only to succumb on a fourth match point when Olivo struck a forehand winner.

Tsonga wasn’t about to blame the loss on playing the week before the French Open – winning a title in Lyon – after he had pulled out of the Rome Masters with a shoulder complaint.

“There were other years where I didn’t play very well for the whole clay season and then I got to Roland Garros and played well,” the world No. 11 told reporters. “Last week I played well in Lyon and not so well here. That’s the way tennis goes.

“Last week remains a positive experience for me, so I’m going to use that as a basis for the rest of my season.”

With the result, French men won a mere six of 19 first-round matches.

And with Tsonga’s pals Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils struggling with injuries of late, this could be the year when no French men make the second week at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007 even if Lucas Pouille’s stock is rising.

France's Gael Monfils dives in a try to return to Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych during their French Tennis Open first round match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on May 27, 2013. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

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At least however there was better news among the women.

Kristina Mladenovic – perhaps the most likely French winner in either draw after reaching clay finals in Stuttgart and Madrid in the last six weeks – recovered from a grueling first-round encounter to beat former French Open finalist Sara Errani 6-2 6-3.

Mladenovic said she considered pulling out of her clash with Jennifer Brady on Monday because of a back injury that surfaced over the weekend.

She stuck around and battled past Brady in three hours, despite looking in discomfort, but moved more freely Wednesday to the relief of the French.

Nadal, defending champions progress

Elsewhere, defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic, nine-time winner Rafael Nadal and the in-form Dominic Thiem breezed, not dropping a set in eliminating Joao Sousa, Robin Haase and Simone Bolelli, respectively.

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While Venus Williams – making her 20th appearance at the French Open – swept aside Kurumi Nara with pregnant sister Serena watching from the stands, reigning women’s champion Garbine Muguruza rallied past Anett Kontaveit 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2.

Pregnant Serena Williams, who owns an apartment in Paris, watched sister Venus' win over Kurumi Nara.

Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, meanwhile, inflicted a rare double bagel – 6-0 6-0 – on Canada’s Francoise Abanda.