Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka squandered two match points as she suffered a shock third-round exit at the hands of unseeded Amanda Anisimova on Friday.
Osaka eased past Camila Osorio and Madison Brengle in straight sets in the first two rounds but fell to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (10-5) loss to Anisimova in a thrilling contest.
Anisimova, who won her second career title at Melbourne Summer Set 2 earlier this month and is now 8-0 for the season, will face top seed Ash Barty in the last 16.
Two-time Australian Open winner Osaka had won 24 of her past 25 matches in Melbourne and made a fast start against Anisimova by breaking her opponent in the first game.
She held serve to ease ahead on Margaret Court Arena, but Anisimova battled back well in the second set.
The world number 60 broke Osaka in the fourth game with a sublime disguised backhand drop and served out the set in a relatively straightforward manner.
Anisimova continued to dig in and saved two match points in the 10th game to help pave the way for a decisive first-to-10 tie-break.
Osaka had no response to her opponent's accurate hitting as she fell 3-0 behind and, while she did bring it back to 3-2 and 5-4, Anisimova took five of the next six points to advance in a big upset.
DATA SLAM: Osaka outgunned by Anisimova
Osaka had dropped just one set in her first five matches this season and looked in the mood as she raced ahead against Anisimova.
But the American youngster fired in 11 aces and hit more than twice the number of winners that Osaka managed (46 to 21) to pull off the victory.
With this defeat, Osaka has now failed to defend any of her four major crowns, with Victoria Azarenka the last women's player to do so at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Anisimova – 46/44
Osaka – 21/45
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Anisimova – 11/8
Osaka – 5/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Anisimova – 1/8
Osaka – 1/10
Home favourite Caroline Garcia suffers shock second-round exit at Roland Garros
France’s great home hope, Caroline Garcia, was bundled out of Roland Garros in the second round after a dramatic encounter with Russian Anna Blinkova.
As the fifth seed, Garcia is by a distance the top-ranked French player in either the men’s or women’s singles but the country’s wait for a new grand slam champion goes on.
Blinkova, ranked 56, had never beaten a top-five player before but battled back from a set down to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-5, finally taking her ninth match point.
Nerves were clearly affecting the 24-year-old, who served for the match twice, while the partisan Philippe Chatrier crowd were willing Garcia on, but Blinkova did not let the opportunity for the biggest win of her life slip away.
Former world number three Elina Svitolina continued to impress in her comeback grand slam, taking inspiration from husband Gael Monfils as she saw off Australian Storm Hunter 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Less than 11 hours after completing an emotional five-set win over Sebastian Baez, Monfils was back at Roland Garros cheering on Svitolina.
“I watched him, but not live, I was screaming in my room,” said the Ukrainian. “It was an unbelievable match. I don’t know what he is doing here now, I think he should be resting, but I’m really thankful for him coming to support me, especially in this tough match.”
Svitolina is playing her first slam in more than a year following the birth of baby Skai last October.
The new mother and father are juggling the day job with childcare, and Svitolina said: “It’s the first tournament for us where we are both playing at the same tournament, and Skai is here with us in Paris as well. It’s really, really special.
“So far everything is going well and we really enjoy our time off the court together and on the court we try to be focused and play as good as we can.”
Svitolina is also having to put to one side thoughts of the troubles in her homeland and is using the situation to inspire her on court.
She said: “When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine. And me, I’m fighting here on my own frontline.
“I cannot be sad. I cannot be distracted in some ways. I’m just going to lose. I have a flag next to my name so I’m fighting for my country, and I’m going to do that each time I step on the court.”
Third seed Jessica Pegula had an untaxing afternoon, taking the first set 6-2 against Camila Giorgi before the Italian pulled out.
Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina produced the shot of the tournament so far, a fizzing tweener winner, in a 6-3 6-4 victory over former finalist Marketa Vondrousova, while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko lost out 6-3 1-6 6-2 to American Peyton Stearns.
French Open day three: Seyboth Wild springs shock as Swiatek powers through
Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild caused the first big shock of the French Open, knocking out second seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets.
In a now wide open men’s bottom half, there were wins for last year’s finalist Casper Ruud, young Dane Holger Rune and Alexander Zverev.
Defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek pulled away after a tricky start to open her campaign with a 6-4 6-0 win over Cristina Bucsa.
Picture of the dayStat of the dayShot of the dayMatch of the day
A five-hour-10-minute epic played out on Court Eight. To add to the drama, Miomir Kecmanovic demanded to see the supervisor after being given a warning when he hit a ball back that had flown over from another court.
Carrot tops
View this post on Instagram
There is no missing Jannik Sinner’s fan club at Roland Garros this year. The ‘Carota Boys’ have been inspired by their favourite player’s penchant for a mid-match carrot snack. “I have orange hair, and I used to eat a lot of carrots in Vienna,” said Sinner. “It’s a good nickname.”
Venus returns
Venus Williams turns 43 in a couple of weeks but she is not yet ready to follow sister Serena into retirement. The American will play her first tournament since January on grass in the Netherlands, and watch out for her popping up in Birmingham, too. Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, will play in Eastbourne.
Fallen seeds
Men: Daniil Medvedev (2), Miomir Kecmanovic (31)
Women: Barbora Krejcikova (13), Victoria Azarenka (18), Anhelina Kalinina (25), Sorana Cirstea (30), Marie Bouzkova (31), Shelby Rogers (32)
Who’s up next?
View this post on Instagram
Cameron Norrie will take on the crowd and a French opponent for the second match in a row on Suzanne Lenglen, this time former top-10 player Lucas Pouille.
Novak Djokovic plays the night match on Philippe Chatrier against Marton Fucsovics, with Carlos Alcaraz facing Taro Daniel in the last contest of the day session.
Caroline Garcia carries French hopes against Anna Blinkova while third seed Jessica Pegula meets the dangerous Camila Giorgi.
Daniil Medvedev dumped out of French Open in first round by Thiago Seyboth Wild
Second seed Daniil Medvedev was the first big casualty of the French Open after losing in five sets to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in the opening round.
On the court where Brazilian great Gustavo Kuerten lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires three times, 23-year-old Seyboth Wild delighted the Philippe Chatrier crowd with his attacking tennis.
After winning the opening set, he looked to have blown his chance when he failed to convert a 6-4 lead in the second-set tie-break and missed the easiest of overheads to hand Medvedev the set.
The Russian comfortably won the third as well but Seyboth Wild fought back brilliantly in the fourth and broke the Medvedev serve three times in the decider to win 7-6 (5) 6-7 (6) 2-6 6-3 6-4, clinching his first grand slam win with his 69th winner.
Seyboth Wild, ranked 172, said: “I’ve watched Daniil play for my entire career. I’ve always dreamed of playing these players on this court. In my best dreams I beat them, so it’s a dream come true.”
Medvedev became increasingly riled by the crowd, gesturing for them to be quiet, and ranted incessantly at his box before departing the arena without acknowledging the fans.
A committed clayphobe in his younger days, Medvedev has improved considerably on the surface, reaching the quarter-finals here in 2021 and winning his first Masters title on the red stuff in Rome earlier this month.
That achievement positioned him firmly among the title contenders but instead he suffered his first opening-round loss at a slam for four years.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
