Paris : Barbora Krejcikova’s Roland-Garros title defence ended at the very first hurdle as the Czech world No.2 suffered a shock defeat to French teenager Diane Parry while World No 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek romped to victory at the French Open here on Monday.
Action on the second day of the year’s second Grand Slam was hectic and also upsetting for 2021 winner Barbora Krejcikova as the doubles specialist went down 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Parry in a match played on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Facing a top-10 player for the first time in her career, Parry blew the roof off centre court as she pulled off a remarkable win in front of her home crowd that was chanting ‘Parry, Parry’ throughout the closing stages of the two-hour eight-minute contest.
The world No.97 is the lowest-ranked woman to beat a No.2 seed at Roland-Garros since No.114 Arantxa Rus upset Kim Clijsters here in 2011 and will next play 20-year-old Colombian Camila Osorio, according to a report on the official website.
Iga packs off No. 29
There were no troubles for World No.1 Iga Swiatek as she needed just 54 minutes to get through her opening round under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, posting a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
The 2020 Roland-Garros champion extended her current streak to 29 match-wins in a row and is searching for a sixth consecutive title this fortnight.
Anisimova ousts Osaka
Meanwhile, four Grand Slam champions took to the court on Monday morning for their opening Roland-Garros 2022 matches and two of them were sent packing.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, lost to American No.27 seed Amanda Anisimova for a second consecutive major while two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, the No.15 seed, came back from a set and a break down to battle past Romanian Ana Bogdan.
Victoria Azarenka defeated Ana Bogdan 6-7(7), 7-6(1), 6-2, while double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the No.32 seed, took out Hungarian Anna Bondar 7-6(0), 6-1.
Osaka’s Australian Open title defence earlier this year ended at the hands of Anisimova, and the four-time major champion suffered the same fate in Paris on Monday, falling 7-5, 6-4 to the big-hitting American. The first three games of the contest went against serve before Anisimova consolidated her advantage for a 3-1 lead.
The Japanese star broke back though, drawing level two games later and the pair remained neck and neck until Anisimova broke to edge ahead 6-5. The 20-year-old American wrapped up the set 7-5 on the 46-minute mark.
Anisimova made her move in game seven of the second set, and despite seeing two match points slip as she was serving for the win, she fired a signature down-the-line backhand to secure her passage to round two, where she faces Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic.
Andreescu sets up Bencic clash
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu fought back from a set and a break down en route to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over Belgian qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure.
After leading 2-0 in the first set, Andreescu fell behind 3-6, 0-2 to the left-handed Bonaventure, who came into the match battle-tested with three qualifying wins under her belt. She clawed her way back into the contest and took the second set 7-5. She opened up a 3-0 lead in the decider before play was interrupted due to rain.
Upon resumption of play, the Canadian rolled through the next three games to punch her ticket to the second round, where she takes on Olympic champion and N.14 seed Belinda Bencic.
–IANS
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