2021 Roland Garros Champion Krejcikova Stunned In First Round

| by Balasz Virag

Barbora Krejcikova won't repeat her 2021 Roland Garros triumph this year as she lost already in the first round.

The Czech player, who reached the world no. 2 spot on the WTA Tour and is a seven-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, enjoyed her biggest success in singles two years ago when she stunned the world with her Roland Garros triumph.

Last year, Krejcikova couldn't follow up on the success, losing already in the first round to Diane Parry in three sets. It seems that the 2021 champion can't deal with the pressure at Roland Garros as she's yet to win a match in the French capital since her triumph two years ago.

This time, she took on Lesia Tsurenko and she was really confident ahead of the event. Krejcikova expressed a desire to challenge the dominance of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalanka, and Elena Rybakina, but her 2023 Roland Garros performance wasn't enough to do that.

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The two met for the first time, and they both came to the French capital after a third-round loss in Rome. Both players had to fight for their serve in the opening games, but Tsurenko was better in that fight.

There were at least six points played in all games of the first set, showing how close it was despite the result being quite one-sided. The Ukrainian broke her opponent's serve twice, winning the first set 6-2.

But Krejcikova wanted to show that her 2021 triumph wasn't a fluke, starting really well in the second set. The Czech player won the first three games, leading by two breaks.

But the rest of the set was a disaster for her. Tsurenko broke back not only once, and not twice, but three times to win the second set 6-4 and eliminate the former champion at the 2023 Roland Garros.

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