Croatian tennis player Petra Martic ousted on Friday World's No. 2 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic from the 2019 French Open, which kicked off last Sunday.
Martic will play an unseeded player next, either Estonia's Kaia Kanepi or Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
The defeat meant that the Czech second seed became the latest big name to crash out of the French Open women's draw, and that Naomi Osaka will remain world No. 1 following the end of the Grand Slam regardless of her result. With Martic tied for the most main draw wins on clay (13) with Kiki Bertens and Maria Sakkari, both since eliminated from this year's competition, not only was she looking to claim sole possession of first place, she was also attempting to reach the round of 16.
The game which saw her broken to fall 5-3 behind in the second set encapsulated an erratic display - as she served two double faults, missed perhaps the easiest volley seen on the newly-rebuilt Court Philippe Chatrier, and capped it off by drilling the simplest of forehands several feet past the baseline.
Martic finished with 14 winners, including five-for-five at the net, and caused Pliskova to commit 28 unforced errors. She did [make the] final previous year here, so obviously she likes to play here.
Pliskova is the fourth world top 10 player to leave the French Open in the early rounds this year.
Martic was a ideal 5-for-5 at the net, and carved out 13 winners - and kept her calm throughout most pressure moments, including in the second set.
However, the fightback did not last and Martic regained control with two more breaks before serving it out at 5-3.
Friday's win was a long time coming for Petra Martic.
Serving for the match, Sevastova delivered a hold at love to complete a flawless comeback in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far. "I have always loved it since I was a little girl", Muguruza, who improved her career record at the French Open to 27-5, told reporters.
Muguruza kept her hopes of triumphing at Roland Garros for a second time alive by overcoming Svitolina 6-3 6-3, though Sloane Stephens and Anastasija Sevastova found the going much tougher.
"I knew that today I had to put up my game against hers and not let her dictate play because she's really good at it", said Martic during an on-court interview with Tennis Channel.
"I had to kind of try to take it away from her, and at times it was hard, especially when she broke me and when she got a few winners, which she's known for". But it was not obvious that she would ever reach the top ten.
03 June 2019
