French Open Day 1 Roundup: Putintseva grinds down Konta, Cornet thrills home crowd
PARIS, France - Former quarterfinalist Yulia Putintseva bundled No.22 seed Johanna Konta out in the first round of the French Open, 6-4, 6-3 as action got underway around the grounds on the first day of the year's second Grand Slam.
The Kazakh, best known for being two games away from a stunning victory over Serena Williams in the last eight in Paris two years ago, broke the British No.1 four times in the match to earn her first career win in the pair's three meetings.
The World No.22 was undone in part by 32 unforced errors over the course of the match, which she was unable to balance out with only 22 winners. Conversely, the Kazakh put on a patented, controlled performance, with a near-equal amount of 12 winners to 14 unforced.
"I think the whole match really didn't feel like a great match for me, quite honestly. It was just -- I never really quite found my rhythm. I never really quite found the way I wanted to play," Konta said.
"I think, obviously, there's some of that to do with her. I think she played quite smart. Otherwise, I think I just had a bad match. I knew what she likes to do. She likes to build her points, and I think she -- what she does well is that exactly, and also she obviously runs well. She gets a lot of balls back. She plays with good heaviness on her ball.
"What I was trying to do was kind of take her time away, look to move forward. I think she does play better with time, and, unfortunately, I couldn't do it well enough."
Konta was looking to win her first-ever main draw match at Roland Garros, having lost a marathon 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 win to Hsieh Su-wei in the first round a year ago as the No.7 seed, but drops to 0-4 in the main draw in her career in Paris.
Elsewhere around the grounds, No.32 seed and home favorite Alizé Cornet scored a big win in the first women's match on Court Philippe Chatrier, as she outlasted 2012 finalist Sara Errani in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
"I'm really happy, because I really had a bad start. I wasn't in the game. I didn't feel confident. I wasn't yet ready," Cornet told French reporters after the match. "I managed to overcome all my doubts and my fears, and I think it was very satisfactory, and I think it's a very good start."
Having reached the fourth round twice at her home Grand Slam in her career, including last year, Cornet looked far away from that form as she trailed 6-2, 2-0 in the match, only to win six straight games to send it to a decider.
Once there, Cornet again streaked on a run of games - this time, four straight after losing serve to begin the set - and held off a late charge from the Italian to advance.
"I managed to turn the whole match around, because I kept my cool even though I had a very bad start. I really started moving my legs, and when I started running, as I usually do, and I started using my legs much more, I was much better."
Other first-round winners included No.25 seed Anett Kontaveit and No.26 seed Barbora Strycova, who each needed three sets to defeat Madison Brengle and Kurumi Nara, respectively.
Unseeded and looming threats Petra Martic and Ekaterina Makarova also passed their first round tests with straight-set victories over Wang Yafan and Zheng Saisai, respectively. Both have reached the fourth round in Paris twice in their careers.
Rounding out first round action, fast-rising Slovak 20-year-old Viktoria Kuzmova ousted 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6(2), 7-6(2).
