Paris: The French Open witnessed a stunning upset on its very first day as 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova outclassed Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 in the first round match on Sunday.
World number 81 Potapova played fearlessly throughout the match against the number five seed Kerber. This is Potapova's first appearance at the Roland Garros and this was just her second career meeting with a top ten player.
Kerber, who was chasing a career Grand Slam, had no answer to the attacking gameplay shown by her Russian opponent.
From the very beginning, Potapova was in blistering form and Kerber was not able to match her intensity. Kerber showed some signs of early-tournament nerves. Twice she found herself a breakdown, but she was able to respond immediately.
But when Potapova broke for the third time, it was too late for Kerber to respond as the first set slipped away from her. Kerber's tallied up just eight winners to 11 unforced errors and as a result, she lost the first set 4-6.
Potapova registered 13 winners to just 12 unforced errors in the first set.
With confidence reigning high, Potapova showcased high confidence through her gameplay.
Potapova showed no signs of nerves. In the end, she was able to take the second set easily and ended up winning the first round match, registering the biggest win of her career so far.
Potapova will next face either Wang Yafan or Marketa Vondrousova in the second round of the French Open.
