By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, May 26, 2019
Garbiñe Muguruza survived a tough test from Taylor Townsend, while Angelique Kerber fell at the first hurdle in Paris.
Photo credit: Adidas
Uncertainty swirled around a pair of Grand Slam champions in their Roland Garros openers today.
One survived and one did not.
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Angelique Kerber couldn't shake the rust or the buzzing drives of Russian Anastasia Potapova.
The 81st-ranked Potapova broke serve six times pounding out a 6-4, 6-2, upset of three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber in a rousing Roland Garros debut to score her first career Top 10 win.
Potapova calls Kerber one of her tennis "idols." Today, she torched the 2018 quarterfinalist's serve winning 17 of 26 points played on the German's second serve that sometimes sat up in the box.
"I was really looking forward for this match, because Kerber, I like her very much," Potapova said. "She's actually one of my idols, and when I was young I was looking for her game, how she's playing.
"When you step in on the court and you know you play your, I would say idol, you just gotta show your best. That's help me. So, yeah, I was fighting for every point, and that's it."
The 31-year-old Kerber fell in the first round for the third time in the last four years.
The fifth-seeded German, who suffered a twisted right ankle in Madrid that limited her to three clay-court matches before Paris, was bidding to complete the career Grand Slam, but succumbed to a fearless teenager.
The 2016 Wimbledon girls' champion fired 28 winners compared to 16 for the former world No. 1.
"I didn't know too much about her, but I know that she plays good in the juniors," Kerber said. "She won big tournaments. I mean, you know, she has nothing to lose. I know how the feeling is to go on court, trying the best. She really plays good today. So, yeah, there are a lot of new good players are coming, and she's one of them."
Playing the first match on the new sunken Court Simonne-Mathieu, Garbiñe Muguruza refused to be upstaged by Taylor Townsend.
Down a game in the decisive set, Muguruza unleashed a 10-point surge to spark a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, triumph over Townsend and reach the Roland Garros second round for the seventh straight time.
Unfamiliarity with her opponent contributed to an unsettled start for the powerful Spaniard.
"It was a difficult day," Muguruza said. "Of course I'm really satisfied that I won, but it was a difficult match. I didn't know this player. I studied her. She has a different game.
"I had difficulty in finding my rhythm in the first set. Also, I was a bit nervous. The first set was a bit difficult. After this moment, I improved my game, and I played more intelligently, I would say."
The left-handed Townsend took the court with a 4-1 first-round French Open record and unloaded her twisting topspin forehand to surprise the 2016 champion at the outset.
Twenty-one minutes into the match, Townsend broke for 4-2 when Muguruza slapped a backhand into net. The world No. 19 broke right back in the seventh game.
Townsend used a slick drop shot-backhand pass combination to go up love-30 in the 12th game. Two points later, the American curled a forehand winner down the line breaking at love to build a one-set lead.
Two adjustments Muguruza made as the match progressed: she stepped in more to take her opponent's topspin in the rise and drilled her best weapon—the two-handed backhand down the line—to move the American. Townsend's volleys are among the best assets of her game. Muguruza took the net away winning 25 of 32 trips to net compared to 10 of 17 net-points for Townsend.
Flashing a forehand down the line, Muguruza drew an error to break for a 2-1 second-set lead. The Spaniard rolled through three straight games to force a final set.
Down 0-1 in the decider and deadlocked at deuce, Muguruza shifted her game into a higher gear charging through 10 consecutive points to snatch a 3-1 lead.
The two-time Grand Slam champion continued cracking drives down the line with more command in the final set. Stepping in to take Townsend's topspin on the rise, Muguruza drew a floated forehand breaking again for a 4-1 advantage.
The 25-year-old Spaniard carved out a drop shot winner closing one minute shy of two hours christening the 5,000-seat Simonne-Mathieu Court with a strong finish and favorable reviews.
"It's actually cool to be the first player in it," Muguruza said. "I have been training this week, actually, on it for a couple of days. I liked it. It's a very cute court. It's not small, but it's, you know, cozy."
Muguruza, who fell to eventual-champion Simona Halep in the 2018 semifinals, improved to 25-5 at Roland Garros setting up a second-round clash vs. Johanna Larsson. The Swede swept Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3, 6-4.
The winner of that match will face a potential third-round encounter with either Elina Svitolina or Venus Williams, who square off later today.
While Muguruza moves forward on the dirt, reigning Wimbledon champion Kerber looks forward to grass season.
"Of course the goal was to coming here to playing this tournament, and of course it was, like every day the last two weeks, was really hard," Kerber said. "Yeah, of course, I thought that I can play a little bit better, but at the end, like I said, I didn't have really too much matches on clay.
"It is always a tough challenge with all the setups and to coming back, but we have still few more months to go, and the clay season is over now for me. Yeah, I'm happy about that, that I can now looking forward to playing on grass."