Kerber’s quick makes Open history

ters on the front that read, “Courage. Belief. Pojd.” The last word, which is the Czech equivalent of “Come on!” and was spelled on the shirts with a red heart instead of the “o’’, is often yelled by Kvitova to celebrate good shots.

In one other early result of significance, 2015 US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci exited Roland Garros in the first round for the fourth year in a row.

The 31st-seeded Vinci, most famous for ending Williams’ hopes of a calendar year grand slam by beating her in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows in 2015, lost to Rio Olympics gold medalist Monica Puig 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Meanwhile, three weeks shy of her 37 th birthday, Venus Williams, who made her debut in the French capital in 1997, kicked off her latest campaign with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over China’s Wang Qiang.

Williams, seeded 10th, has played every year since 1997 with the exception of 2011 and despite her senior citizen status, she is still a contender at the Slams as her run to the Australian Open final in January proved.

Her staggering longevity is illustrated by the fact that her second-round opponent is compatriot Amanda Anisimova who, at just 15, is the youngest main draw competitor since 2005.

To put that in perspective, when Venus was losing the 2002 Roland Garros final to Serena, Anisimova was just nine months old.