Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun yesterday crashed out of the first round of the men’s singles at the French Open, while reigning women’s singles champion Garbine Muguruza breezed into the second round.
Lu’s Roland Garros bid lasted just 2 hours, 7 minutes as he fell to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to hard-hitting Sergiy Stakhovsky.
The Ukrainian world No. 123 fired 16 aces to Lu’s four and converted two of seven break points, while Lu failed to create a single break-point opportunity on Court 10.
Photo: AFP
In the women’s singles, Muguruza’s middling form this season saw her arrive in Paris with just three wins on clay, but the Spaniard dispatched 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-4.
The fourth seed next faces Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit for a place in round three as Schiavone, who turns 37 next month, bid farewell to the tournament for the final time ahead of her retirement at the end of the year.
“I cannot believe in the first round we have two ex-champions. Not only that, but Francesca is a legend and I was very excited to play on Philippe Chatrier court with her,” Muguruza said. “I like to take my chances and be aggressive, and today that wasn’t going to be different.”
Muguruza defeated Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam title a year ago, but the 23-year-old needs to return to the final to stay in the world’s top 10.
“I know I played good here before, but that doesn’t make me extra confident this year. I have to play well to earn that confidence again,” she said.
Muguruza lost to Kontaveit in Stuttgart, Germany, last month, although the Estonian is through to the second round of a Grand Slam for just the second time.
Jelena Jankovic’s 54th consecutive Grand Slam appearance was a fleeting one as the three-time French Open semi-finalist was consigned to a first-round exit by Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp.
In the men’s singles, Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic raced into round two with a routine 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Steve Darcis of Belgium.
Raonic, whose best run at the French Open came when he made the 2014 quarter-finals, fired 15 aces and 44 winners to book a meeting with Mikhail Youzhny of Russia or Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic later yesterday were due to set off ahead of a semi-final collision course, with the former bidding to become the first player in the Open era to win 10 titles at any Grand Slam event.
Three clay-court titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid suggest the Spaniard is poised to end a three-year drought at the majors, but the Spaniard was wary of mercurial Benoit Paire of France.
“He is not an opponent you want to play against in the first round. A player with big talent. Great serve, great hands and fantastic backhand,” Nadal said. “He’s a dangerous opponent. I need to play my best.”
Djokovic completed a career Grand Slam with his maiden French Open title last year, but the Serb then suffered a drastic dip in performances.
The world No. 2 was hoping to draw inspiration from new coach Andre Agassi, the 1999 French Open champion, as he launched his defense against Marcel Granollers of Spain.
“You start a tournament from the same line with everyone else. You fight for the trophy, as everybody does. That’s the way I approach it,” Djokovic said.
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