Sakkari stunned, Azarenka, Kerber advance to French Open 3rd round
Sports Desk, May 25 (EFE).- Maria Sakkari on Wednesday joined the French Open top-10 seeds’ exodus, while former world No.1s Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber qualified for the third round.
Greece’s Sakkari, the fourth seed, was stunned by Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-6 in nearly two hours and a half, falling short of her best Roland Garros run that saw her reach the semifinal in 2021.
Sakkari, ranked No. 3, is the fifth top-10 seed player to be sent packing, following holder Barbora Krejcikova (2), Anett Kontaveit (5), Ons Jabeur (6) and Garbiñe Muguruza (10).
Next up for Muchova will be Amanda Anisimova, the 27th seed, who defeated Donna Vekić in straight sets.
Two-times Grand Slam champion Azarenka of Belarus prevailed over her fellow former top-10 player Andrea Petković 6-1, 7-6 in one hour and 48 minutes.
The 2013 French Open semifinalist, the 15th seed, will play Jil Teichmann, seeded No.23.
Germany’s Kerber extended her best French Open campaign since reaching her second quarterfinals in 2018 at the expense of Frenchwoman wildcard Elsa Jacquemot.
The 34-year-old, who has not made it past the first round in Paris since 2018, will take on Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, did not make the cut, unlike her Flushing Meadows–Corona Park runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who got the job done in two sets. EFE
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