French Open 2021: Bianca Andreescu bows out in the first round, loses to Tamara Zidansek in a three set epic
Bianca Andreescu
It is the first big shock in the women’s side, as former US Open Champion and sixth seed Bianca Andreescu bows out of the 2021 French Open in the very first round. She lost in a three set epic to World No.85 Tamara Zidansek 6-7(1),7-6(2),9-7.
The Canadian sixth seed was quick of the blocks though. She broke Zidansek in the very first game and again in the next game to take a 3-0 lead. But the Slovenian was quick to react as she broke back twice too and drew level at 3-3. Then the two players displayed some clean tennis with a lot of winners and held serve. The set eventually went into a tie breaker with Andreescu winning it comfortably, losing just 1 point.
The second set started off slowly with both players struggling for on court grip, and struggled to hold serve amidst strong winds. Zidansek was the first to break in the third game with Andreescu reacting in the very next one. The story continued the same for the remainder of the set as the wind made it difficult to hold serve. And so, the set went into the tie breaker again, but this time, it was the Slovenian who came out at top, dropping just two points and forcing a decider.
Zidansek holds nerve to upset the sixth seed
The final set had a completely different storyline from the initial two. Both the players raised their game and were quick on serve. They held serve for the initial 8 games and drew level at 4-4 before the Canadian broke to take a 5-4 lead and served for the match. But it was just not her day as she got broken back badly in the very next game at the match went into the shootout.
Unlike other slams, there should be a mandatory two games margin for a player to win the match, and hence the hustle started. Both Zidansek and Andreescu served very well under pressure and held their serve. Andreescu also felt some discomfort in her ankle but continued anyway. With high quality tennis, both players held serve until 7-7. Zidansek held another service game and broke Andreescu the very net game to win the set 9-7 and knock the sixth seed out of the compitition.
This was Andreescu’s second consecutive early round loss at a grand slam. She lost in the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year to Hsieh Su-wei.
Lakshya Chopra
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