Paris, May 23 : A first-round clash at French Open saw No.27 seed Amanda Anisimova thwacked Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-4 in 90 minutes, taking the former World No.1 out for the second time in as many majors at Roland Garros. It was a tightly contested match, but Anisimova managed to keep herself ahead of her rival for the most part of the match.
Four of the first six games of the match were breaks of serve. Both players pushed the other out of their comfort zone with animated hitting and fine use of angles, and as they sought to dominate the proceedings each threw in more variety than usual.
Taking advantage from a wobbly service game from Osaka at 5-all in the opening set, in which her rival threw two double faults, Anisimova was the steadier of the two.
While Osaka saved two match points on the brink of defeat, the American sealed it with a statement backhand winner down the line to set a second-round showdown with Croatian qualifier and former world No.19 Donna Vekic.
Anisimova, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2019, took full advantage with an emphatic hold to seal the first set.
At 3-3 in the second set, Anisimova pounced again. Osaka again squandered a game point, netting a forehand despite Anisimova resorting to sliced backhands following a broken string, and double faulted down break point for a second time.
Anisimova wriggled out from a 0-40 hole to hold for 5-3, and successfully served out the win, nailing a backhand screamer down the line on her third match point.
Anisimova has been in a killing form over the last two months. She has yet to lose before the last eight of a clay-court tournament in 2022, having reached the semifinals in Charleston and quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome.
By contrast, Osaka ended her clay swing with a 1-2 record, having played only two tournaments after an ankle injury forced her to withdraw from Rome.
Anisimova will next play qualifier Donna Vekic, whom she previously defeated 7-6(4), 7-6(6) in the 2020 Rome first round, their sole prior encounter.
Meanwhile, No.32 seed Petra Kvitova snapped a four-match losing streak to post her first 2022 clay-court win 7-6(0), 6-1 over Anna Bondar. The Czech, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2012 and 2020, initially struggled to gain the upper hand over the smooth-hitting Hungarian.
No.61-ranked Bondar served for the first set at 5-3, but netted a forehand on set point. A double fault and an absurdly angled Kvitova return later, and the former World No.2 finally took control. Kvitova whitewashed Bondar in a dominant tiebreak, and rolled through the second set.
Elsewhere, Rabat champion Martina Trevisan extended her winning streak to six with an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Harriet Dart. The Italian, a quarterfinalist here in 2020, had collected her first Hologic WTA Tour title last week at the age of 28.
Zheng Qinwen, 19, enjoyed a successful Roland Garros debut, overpowering Maryna Zanevska 6-3, 6-1 in 71 minutes; and former World No.20 Daria Saville’s comeback season continued apace with a 6-1, 6-2 win over qualifier Valentini Grammatikopoulou in 72 minutes.
