Kvitova’s comeback cut short
Venus impresses with straight sets victory
PARIS: Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova’s comeback ended in the second round of the French Open yesterday as she was knocked out in straight sets by American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
The 15th seed, who had only returned this week after a five-month injury absence following a stabbing by a burglar last year, littered the court with errors to lose 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5).
The 32-year-old American, doubles winner in Paris in 2015, refused to buckle when Kvitova went 4-2 ahead.
She whipped in a series of ferocious forehand winners while also frustrating the Czech, constantly forcing her to the net to win the first set with a tiebreak.
Kvitova, who had struggled with her returns despite the American getting less than half of her first serves in, pulled herself together and rallied back from 3-1 down to force another tie-break.
The American, however, kept her cool and watched asKvitova surrendered on match point with her ninth double fault.
With superstar sister Serena away pregnant, it was left to 36-year-old Venus to carry the standard for the Williams family at Roland Garros yesterday, with a secondround thumping of Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
Seeded 10th here, Williams ground her Japanese opponent into the red Parisian dust in a contest that at times almost veered into miss-match territory before ending 6-3, 6-1.
Williams never appeared extended on the Philippe Chatrier court, but she nevertheless delivered a display of exquisite shotmaking to a crowd denied a real contest.
Punching her black and lime-green racquet through the ball, Williams cleaned the lines with her groundstrokes, sending Nara scampering all round the arena.
“You know, it’s always a joy when you can control the match,” she smiled afterwards. “That always feels good.”
The win makes her the oldest woman to reach the third round at the French Open since Billie-Jean King in 1982, .
Next up is either Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp or Belgian Elise Mertens.
“I don’t think I have played either in singles, so it will be interesting to, like, see how that ball is coming at me,” she mused.
“I just want to win, so whoever I play, I just would like to win that match. That’s how you have to be is greedy.”
TSONGA DUMPED OUT
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s French Open hopes vanished into thin air yesterday when he was sent packing in the first round with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 defeat against Argenitine Renzo Olivo.
The French 12th seed, who had just won the Lyon Open on clay, bowed out after saving three match points in the only game played on Wednesday after the match was interrupted by dusk on Tuesday.
“We were back to the hotel around 1am, I had a massage, it was not easy to sleep. I knew the first point today was important,” world No.91 Olivo, who trained in France from 2012-2016, said courtside in French.
Olivo served for the match yesterday but
a burly Tsonga had broken back to keep his hopes alive.
“I just tried to play every point as it was the last,” said Olivo, who handed Tsonga his second first-round defeat at Roland Garros.
No French man has won the French Open since 1983, let alone a Grand Slam title. REUTERS (x denotes seeding) Dominic Thiem (AUT x6) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5, 6-1, 6-3; David Goffin (BEL x10) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Renzo Olivo (ARG) bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x12) 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-2, 6-2; Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) bt Monica Puig (PUR) 6-3, 6-2; Samantha Stosur (AUS x23) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 6-2, 7-6 (8/6); Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x15) 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5); Yulia Putintseva (KAZ x27) bt Johanna Larsson (SWE) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3; Venus Williams (USA x10) bt Kurumi Nara (JPN) 6-3, 6-1