Dominic Thiem, Kerber knocked out

PARIS: Two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem was knocked out in the first round of the French Open by Spanish journeyman Pablo Andujar 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 in the first major upset of the claycourt Grand Slam on Sunday.

It first seemed that Andujar's win against 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in Geneva earlier this month would count for nothing. But Austrian Thiem's game began to unravel after a dominant start on court Philippe Chatrier.

Thiem, who reached the final in Paris in 2018 and 2019, had never lost in the opening round at Roland Garros, but that prospect grew as Andujar went for his shots and unsettled his 27-year-old opponent.

Thiem broke back after conceding a break in the first game of the decider, but Andujar kept on piling up the pressure with deep strokes and broke again for 3-2.

The 35-year-old, ranked 68th in the world, then held serve throughout to claim victory after nearly four-and-a-half hours after Thiem made a total of 66 unforced errors.

Thiem, who took a break to 'reset his game' earlier this season and also battled injuries, entered the tournament short of confidence and Sunday's clash with Andujar showed he had yet to rediscover his touch even though he had reached the semi-finals at the Madrid Masters this month.

Three-time Grand Slam champion and former No.1 Angelique Kerber already is gone from the French Open with a third consecutive first-round loss.

The 26th-seeded Kerber was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Anhelina Kalinina, a qualifier from Ukraine ranked 139th making her tournament debut.

In an indication that the 26th seed, who has never made it past the quarter-finals here despite winning the other three Grand Slams once each, is not a top name on clay, Kerber was scheduled to play on the outside court 14.

In her last six tries she has failed to make it past the opening round on five occasions.

Kerber is now eager to play on a surface on which she fares better.

In other first-round matches on Day 1, No. 33 seed Paula Badosa of Spain continued her fine clay court season with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win over Lauren Davis of the USA. Paula has reached the semi-finals or better in her last three clay-court appearances -- at Charleston, Madrid, and Belgrade, where she won her maiden WTA singles title.

The 3rd seed Arnya Sabalenka beat Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Crictina Mchale 6-4, 6-0, Agencies

Also Read: Rafael Nadal bids for 14th French Open title

Also Watch: