Maria Sakkari has suffered a first round exit at the hands of Karolina Muchova after losing 7-6(5) 7-5.
The Greek had high hopes for a deep run in Paris after an encouraging clay court season.
However Muchova’s variety and power was too strong as she came from a break down in both sets to seal the straight sets victory.
Next for Muchova will be Nadia Podoroska, who reached the semi-finals in Paris in 2020.
It was a promising start for Sakkari who had reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros before as the Greek took a 3-0 lead with some powerful shot-making.
However Muchova gradually built her confidence from the baseline and used her variety to grind the errors from an inconsistent Sakkari.
The eighth seed had lacked control on her shots and after a long game, Sakkari conceded the break back as the match was back on serve at 3-2.
Sakkari’s service games continued to be tested as she lacked confidence with her first serve as well as lacking effective point construction.
After saving two break points in the eighth game, Sakkari aimed to break down Muchova’s game with depth and angles.
However there was no consistent danger on big points which Muchova took advantage of in the eleventh game, comfortably breaking the world number eight’s serve.
This scrappy set of tennis would have another twist in the tale as Muchova lacked conviction on her own serve.
An aggressive return game from Sakkari saw her claw the break back as the opening set went to a tiebreak.
The tiebreak just like the rest of the set was full of momentum swings which saw Muchova manage to be the more consistent player.
A shanked forehand from Sakkari gave Muchova the advantage as she claimed the opening set in 67 minutes.
The second set was similar the first with Sakkari claiming the break in the opening game with authority before Muchova came back to level the set at 2-2.
As the set went on, the more tense both players became with opportunities being wasted.
However it was Sakkari who was the more error-prone and after three match points being wasted, Muchova struck the fatal blow on her fourth to claim victory.
For Sakkari, it’s her worst Grand Slam result since the Australian Open in 2021 as analysis will go on until Wimbledon.
As for Muchova, she celebrates another big win in 2023 with a match against Nadia Podoroska awaiting.
