By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, May 29, 2017
Reigning Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza broke serve five times in a 6-2, 6-4 win over 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone.
Photo credit: Roland Garros
Mis-steps plagued Garbiñe Muguruza’s Roland Garros preparation.
The reigning Roland Garros champion put her best foot forward streaking through a confident return to Paris.
Watch Q & A: Muguruza on Spirit, Style and Defending Roland Garros
In a clash of the reigning and former Roland Garros champions, Muguruza broke serve five times posting a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Francesca Schiavone to roll into the second round.
"I think it was a tough first match," Muguruza said. "I think Schiavone can be a tricky player. I think she has moments where she's unbelievable. It's gonna be, no matter who is in front of me here, difficult. It doesn't matter.
"Schiavone first round, I thought 'that's a tough match here,' I'm happy that I managed to play and to be kind of composed out there because I wasn't sure how I was going to react again on the center court against an ex-champ. You know, I wanted to do it well."
It was Muguruza’s eighth straight French Open victory and her 16th win in her last 18 matches in Paris.
It is likely the 36-year-old Italian’s final French Open match—Schiavone announced her plan to retire at the end of the season—and the strong start serves as a statement of intent for Muguruza, who compiled a mediocre 3-3 clay-court record this season.
"I think Francesca is a legend. I’m very excited to have played on this court with her,” said Muguruza, who is bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend Roland Garros since Justine Henin won her third straight championship a decade ago.
Taking Schiavone's topspin on the rise, Muguruza played declarative first-strike tennis powering through the first set.
Winning the battle of court positioning in the opener, Muguruza was often inside the baseline firing her flat strikes into the corners.
Midway through the first set, Muguruza took command reeling off 12 consecutive points to close out the set.
Playing assertive baseline tennis, Muguruza broke at love for 5-2. Serving for the set, she slid an ace for 30-0, rapped a forehand winner for triple-set point and snatched the 33-minute opener on a Schiavone error.
Bursting out to a 2-0 second-set lead, Muguruza seemed in command.
However, the 2010 champion had other ideas.
Stepping up the baseline and changing direction more effectively, Schiavone slid a pass down the line that sparked her from love-30 down to break for 2-all.
Both women were grunting with more ferocity as Muguruza fought off a pair of break points leveling at 3-all.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, serving as Schiavone’s coaching consultant, pumped her fist as the Italian veteran held for 4-3.
Two games later, Muguruza bolted a backhand down the line rattling a forehand error to break for 5-4.
Closure was complicated.
The 78th-ranked Schiavone turned up the heat earning a break point. Muguruza, who hit the backhand down the line so sharply defeating Serena Williams in the 2016 final, struck that shot forcefully to save the break point.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard failed to convert her first two match points then had a good look at a lob on her third match point but pushed it long. Muguruza closed the 92-minute victory when Schiavone nudged a forehand volley wide.
The 23-year-old Muguruza marched into a second-round match with a dangerous and powerful opponent, Anett Kontaveit, a 7-5, 6-1 victor over Monica Niculescu.
The 53rd-ranked Kontaveit was a 73rd-ranked qualifier when she surprised Muguruza, 2-6 7-6 (1) 6-1, in Stuttgart last month.
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki fought off the lowest-ranked woman in the draw, 17-year-old Aussie wild card Jaimee Fourlis, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
The 11th-seeded Wozniacki will play a qualifier or a wild card in round two.