Paris: World No.1 Angelique Kerber’s nightmare season hit a new low here Sunday when she was dumped out of the French Open 6-2, 6-2 by 40th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.
The German became the first top seeded woman to lose in the opening round of the French Open since the sport turned professional in 1968 — and the disparity between the players in her Russian opponent’s favour was as wide as the scoreline suggests.
Cutting a troubled figure on court a world away from the feisty player who last season battled her way to two Grand Slam titles, Kerber lacked the pace and power to trouble a fellow left-hander.
Kerber, 29, has struggled this year, withdrawing from the Madrid Open with a thigh injury and going down in straight sets to qualifier Anna Kontaveit in Rome.
But Sunday’s setback, albeit on a surface she has no great affection for and having made an opening-round exit in Paris last year, threatens to leave her season in tatters.
“I need matches. I need matches where I can start playing and feeling my tennis. Winning matches,” she said prior to Sunday’s loss.
That picture offers the starkest of contrasts with a spectacular 2016 that also brought her major wins in the Australian and US Opens and a runner-up spot at Wimbledon.
Makarova – who had won four of her previous 11 encounters with Kerber – was making her first singles appearance on the Philippe Chatrier centre court as well as fighting against history.
In another match two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova swept aside American Julia Boserup 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets easily in her first match since suffering career-threatening injuries to her left playing hand when she tackled an intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov.
Reuters
