French Open 2017: Women’s results — Day 1

The first day of the French Open 2017 has concluded. Here’s a look at what happened on the women’s side of the bracket on Sunday May 28.

The French Open is officially underway. Even in the first day on Sunday, the action picked up early. With Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams out, the women’s bracket is wide open. One of its early favorites is already out.

Number one seed Angelique Kerber lost in straight sets to Ekaterina Makarova (6-2 6-2). Before the tournament started, the German was ranked number one in the world among female tennis players. She struggled early on the clay surface and was never able to rebound. Her pursuit of a career Grand Slam will have to wait. Kerber has won two of the four majors required, but she still needs to win a French Open and a Wimbledon title for the milestone.

Roberta Vinci, the 31st seed, got eliminated in three sets (6-3 3-6 6-2) by Monica Puig. Number 15 seed Petra Kvitova beat Julia Boserup as expected (6-3 6-2). This was Kvitova’s first match back since surviving a knife attack in December. Number 30 ranked Timea Bacsinszky beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets (6-1 6-2).

Number eight ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Christina McHale in straight sets (7-5 6-4). She looked dominant throughout the match, even with some unforced errors. Kuznetsova could be a dark horse to win the Open. Venus Williams beat Qiang Wang in two sets, though she needed a tiebreaker in the second.

Women’s Results

Ekaterina Makarova def. No. 1 Angelique Kerber, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova def.. Lara Arruabarrena 6-2, 6-1
No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Christina McHale, 7-5, 6-4
No. 10 Venus Williams def. Qiang Wang, 6-4, 7-6(3)
No. 15 Petra Kvitova def. Julia Boserup, 6-3, 6-2
Cagla Buyukakcay def. No. 22 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 6-3, 6-3
No. 30 Timea Bacsinszky def. Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-1, 6-2
Monica Puig def. No. 31 Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeated Viktorija Golubic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

Next: Best players to never win French Open

The rest of the first round will get underway on Monday. Sunday set a pretty high bar for the rest of the tournament. Let’s hope everyone involved is up for the challenge of setting it higher.