Serena Williams, targeting a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, survives scare to reach second round
Monday 27 May 2019 21:28, UK
Former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock French Open first round exit while Serena Williams fought back from a set down to reach the second round.
Wozniacki, a two-time quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, was beaten 0-6 6-3 6-3 by the 22-year-old Russian debutant.
The 2018 Australian Open champion began confidently, winning the opening seven games of the match, but was broken three times in the second set before Kudermetova completed the impressive turnaround
Wozniacki, who revealed at the end of last season she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, arrived at Roland Garros with just four victories on clay this season after she withdrew in Madrid and Rome with a back and a calf injury respectively.
"I played really well in the first set. I played aggressive. I played the way I wanted to play," Wozniacki said.
"And then I think she got very lucky at the start of the second set and took advantage of the opportunities she got. I think I just lost a little steam in the end."
The Dane, whose defeat was her third in the first round since her debut in 2007, joined former Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova to suffer an early exit.
Kudermetova, who made her Grand Slam singles debut at this year's Australian Open, will face Kazakh world No 99 Zarina Diyas in the second round after she beat Audrey Albie 6-2 6-2.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova pulled out of the tournament hours before her scheduled first-round match against Sorana Cirstea because of forearm injury. Lucky loser Kaja Juvan replaced the Czech in the draw but she fell 5-7 6-4 7-5 to Sorana Ciestea.
Serena Williams overcame an inconsistent start to reach the second round with a 2-6 6-1 6-0 victory against Russia's Vitalia Diatchenko.
The 10th seed struggled to find her range in the first set but recovered in assured fashion to win 12 of the final 13 games to set up a meeting with Japan's Kurumi Nara or Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic.
The victory was the three-time champion's 800th tour-level victory but the American admitted she had doubts over whether she would even play in Paris.
"It crossed my mind every day, but I'm here. And to do the best that I can do," she said.
As for the game, Williams took a while to find her feet having played just four games all year with a knee injury bothering her most recently.
"I just got nervous out there and I stopped moving my feet, and it was like concrete blocks on my feet. I was, like, 'You've got to do something'.
"I was just making so many errors. Every shot I hit, I felt like I was hitting on my frame. I usually don't hit balls on my frame. I was just off, basically and then instead of correcting it, I just kept getting worse.
"I knew it couldn't get worse, and I knew I could only go up. That's what I told myself. I've just got to keep positive."
Meanwhile, Dutch fourth seed Kiki Bertens defeated France's world No 66 Pauline Parmentier 6-3 6-4.
Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty beat American world No 72 Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-3 but German 18th seed Julia Goerges was knocked out by unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi 7-5 6-1.
The youngest winner of the day was 16-year-old Diane Parry, a French wildcard, who is ranked No 457 in the world.
She defeated Vera Lapko 6-2 6-4 on Court 8 and became the first player born in 2002 to win a Grand Slam qualifying match at Roland-Garros.
Parry, who grew up on the edge of Roland Garros in Boulogne-Billancourt, was immediately asked if she was like Amelie Mauresmo considering she also plays with a single-handed backhand.
"It's Amelie Mauresmo that taught me. I love it. I'm very happy to have a one-handed backhand," she said. "I'm one of the very few players to have one, so I stand out thanks to this."
"I tried to approach this match as a run-of-the-mill match so as not to have too much pressure on my shoulders," the teenager added.
She next faces Belgian 20th seed Elise Mertens, who beat Slovenian Tamara Zidansek 6-4 3-6 6-2.
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