Internet Desk: Ekaterina Makarova stunned World No.1 Angelique Kerber of Germany as she beats her opponent in straight sets by 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of French Open on Sunday.
For the first time in the Open Era, a No.1 seed fell in the first round of the women’s tournament. The No.1 seed has won Roland Garros 18 times, while the earliest exit of the top seed had previously occurred in the second round – Justine Henin in 2004 and Serena Williams in 2014.
In the Open Era, the top seed has lost in the first round at a Grand Slam only five times, including today. 1979 Australian Open (Ruzici, l. to Sawyer), 1994 Wimbledon (Graf, l. to McNeil), 1999 Wimbledon (Hingis, l. to Dokic) and 2001 Wimbledon (Hingis, l. to Ruano Pascual).
“For the first time in nine years at Roland Garros, I played my singles on Philippe Chatrier!” Makarova told Marion Bartoli on-court after the match about the personal history she made in the process. “She’s a great player, I knew that she wasn’t going to miss it, and that I had to win it.”
The two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, currently ranked World No.40, came into the event as one of the most dangerous floaters in the women’s draw based on pedigree, and proved it against the top seed – the Russian struck 26 winners in 16 games, served at 73 percent, and broke Kerber six times to improve to 5-1 against top 10 players this year.
Conversely, Kerber struggled with 25 unforced errors against just 16 winners, and won less than 50 percent of points behind her first serve. The German was just 2/16 on break point opportunities in the match, which included letting seven slip by in the final game.
With Kerber defeated, the World No.1 ranking can change hands after the French Open. Karolina Pliskova can move to No.1 by reaching the final, while Simona Halep can move to No.1 by winning the title.
With inputs from WTA.