French Open 2017 | World No 1 Angelique Kerber shocked in opening round
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Top-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany went down in straight sets to 40th ranked Ekaterina Markova in the women's singles opening round at the French Open in Paris on Sunday. Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova and Dominic Thiem advanced with confident wins in the year's second grand slam.
Day One at the Roland Garros took an unexpected turn as Kerber lost 6-2, 6-2 to become the first top-seeded player to crash out in the opening round of the claycourt major in the Open era. Unseeded Russian Markova saved 14 of 16 break points to win in an hour and 22 minutes. It was the fifth occasionĀ that Kerber crashed out in the French Open first round.Ā
Kvitova made a winning return to the court, brushing asideĀ Julia Boserup 6-3, 6-2. The win was both special and emotional for the Czech who took the court five months after being stabbed in her house.Ā
Meanwhile, Austrian Thiem eased past Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-0,6-2.
Venus Williams used her experience to quell the challenge of China's Qiang Wang 6-4, 7-6.
Leander Paes will partner American Scott Lipsky in men's doubles and will open their campaign against Marcos Baghdatis and Giles Muller.
