Fifth seed Angelique Kerber crashed out in a first major French Open shock on the opening day Sunday 6-4 6-2 against Russian teenager Anastasia Potapova.
It was a loss which meant her career Grand Slam dream ended early.
Former world number one Kerber fought from a break down twice in the opening set, and from 4-0 down to 4-2 in the second.
But she never looked fully comfortable and went out in one hour 13 minutes against her 81st-ranked opponent.
Kerber, 31, came to Paris with only three clay-court matches this season, sidelined first by a bout of flu and then by an ankle injury.
“I tried my best. I was able to practise the last few days really good, but it was not really a long clay court preparation with everything,” Kerber said after her fifth first round exit in Paris.
“In the end, I was happy to at least go on court, play a match. Of course it’s not what I hoped for. But, yeah, she played good. What else can I say?”
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Kerber could have become the seventh woman to complete a career Grand Slam with the Paris title, following trophies at the 2016 Australian Open and US Open, and 2018 Wimbledon.
But on an overcast and cool late May morning, she was on the backfoot from the outset on a sparsely-crowded Philippe Chatrier centre court.
Big-hitting Potapova raced off to 2-0 and 4-2 and, even though Kerber tied on both occasions, Potapova took the opening set by breaking again for 6-4.
This was in spite of being 40-0 down on Kerber’s serve, securing the set with a passing shot and a fierce groundstroke.
Kerber’s agony grew when she fell 4-0 behind in the second, and all hopes of a comeback ended in the seventh game when Potapova held for 5-2 in a tight game.
The 18-year-old who hit 28 winners clinched a big victory when Kerber’s forehand sailed wide.
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“She had nothing to lose. I know how the feeling is to go on court, trying the best. There are a lot of new good players coming, and she’s one of them,” Kerber said of the 2016 Wimbledon junior champion Potapova.
In other early action, another former world number one, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, rallied to beat 96th-ranked American Taylor Townsend 5-7 6-2 6-2 on the new Simonne Mathieu court.
The 2016 champion and number 19 seed Muguruza never looked back after breaking for 2-1 in the second set.
She served out the match at love with a delicate drop shot in just under two hours.
On the men’s side, former US Open champ and number 11 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia ousted Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano 6-3 7-5 6-1.(NAN)
