PARIS (Reuters) – An almighty roar shook Roland Garros yesterday to mark the moment Serena Williams scrapped and clawed her way into the second round of the French Open.
The world number two was left a breathless wreck as Klara Zakopalova teased and tormented the American by saving eight match points in a theatrical display on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
After almost two-and-a-half hours of high drama, Williams finally subdued the plucky challenge of the Czech 6-3 6-7 6-4.
“Couldn’t you tell how tortured I was out there? I think my face said it all,” Williams told reporters after she extended her record of never losing in the first round of a major to 38.
“I played horrendous. I played junior tennis or even worse. I hadn’t won a match on clay all year … (so) I was just desperate for a win.”
While Williams made sure she did not become the first big-name casualty in Paris, Novak Djokovic got an easy ride into the last 64 when his opponent Nicolas Lapentti hobbled off court with an ankle injury. Djokovic was leading 6-3 3-1.
Djokovic’s fellow Serb, fifth seed Jelena Jankovic, dodged rain showers to book her place in round two.
Twenty four hours after the scorching conditions in Paris had left many players hot and bothered, temperatures had dipped by more than 15 degrees Celsius after overnight thunderstorms.
Instead of using her red and white towel to wipe sweat off her face, Jankovic used it as a blanket around her shoulders in the changeovers and seemed relieved to go back to the warmth of the locker room with a 6-2 6-3 win over Czech Petra Cetkovska.
Svetlana Kuznetsova also had to endure a two-hour rain break in the first set and made sure she did not slip up on resumption by bamboozling French wildcard Claire Feuerstein 6-1 6-4. Fellow Russian Elena Dementieva was a 6-4 6-3 winner over South African Chanelle Scheepers.
By the time Williams stepped out, Roland Garros was bathed in glorious sunshine but the American soon discovered that she would not be allowed to enjoy a leisurely afternoon stroll.
28-STROKE RALLY
Zakopalova had beaten Williams in Marbella last month and clearly wanted to mete out more punishment on the 10-times grand slam champion.
Trailing 5-3 in the second set, Zakopalova ignored her status as the world’s 100th best player and showed nerves of steel to save five match points.
Clubbing forehand winners all over the court, Zakopalova came out on top in a 28-stroke rally which had even Williams’s mum applauding from the stands. That only added to her daughter’s growing frustration, especially as she ended up relinquishing the set 7-5 in the tiebreak. Continued.