Arantxa Rus had little to complain about on Tuesday evening after her victory in the first round of Roland Garros. She finally survived a first round again, and did so by defeating former world-topper Angelique Kerber.
Rus didn’t feel extra tension, but due to her opponent’s impressive track record, the victory over Kerber felt just a little bit sweeter. “I’ve seen all her Grand Slam victories on TV, so that makes it nice,” Rus said after her win in two sets.
The 36-year-old Kerber returned to Roland Garros against Rus, where she has previously reached the quarterfinals twice. The three-time Grand Slam winner was absent last year due to her pregnancy and is not yet back to her old level.
Rus took full advantage with strong play. Afterwards, the world number fifty was asked if this was her best match of the year. “Phew, I’ve played quite a few good ones,” she said. “But I think this was the best one on clay.”
Rus had to wait a long time for a first-round victory With the fine victory over Kerber, Rus breaks a negative streak at Roland Garros. In her last six participations, she didn’t get past the first round in Paris, while before that (in 2012) she had reached the fourth round.
“No, I didn’t even know it had been that long. I wasn’t concerned about it,” said Rus. “Last year, I still had to play in the qualifiers here, so I was already happy to be in the main draw.”
While the match against Kerber was played on the small Court 2, Rus might now face a match on Court Philippe-Chatrier or Court Suzanne-Lenglen. She will meet Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, who is seeded fourth in Paris, in the second round
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“That’s great, I’m already looking forward to it,” Rus responded. In 2011, the Dutch player once played on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where she then pulled off an upset by defeating Kim Clijsters. Rus, with a laugh: “So I do know what the big stadiums look like.