Bethanie Mattek-Sands stuns Sabine Lisicki in the opening round – French Open 2012
Another huge upset in the opening round of the Roland Garros French Open on Monday, as the world number 13, Sabine Lisicki, fell out of the tournament in a dismal fashion. The 12th seed German bowed out to the unseeded American contender, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, in the opening round brawl. Lisicki bowed out to the inferior-ranked American at 4-6, 3-6, falling out of the clay court Grand Slam event on the second day’s play.
Lisicki was one of the hot favourites in the race to glory at the Roland Garros but her early exit from the star-studded event was really heartbreaking for the German fans. The 22-year-old diva was outsmarted by an all-round onslaught from Mattek-Sands, who bettered Lisicki in most segments of the game to come out as the winner. The American kept winning crucial points on regularity and made the most of her opportunities in the contest to register one of the most surprising outcomes of this year’s French Open.
With an ordinary first serve precision of 58 per cent in the matchup, Mattek-Sands secured 22 out of 36 points on it and belted 20 assertive winners en route to victory. Lisicki fell short by eight first serve points and played conservative game throughout the contest. She clinched just three net points in total, whilst Mattek-Sands launched frequent forays to the net, converting 15 out of 18 points into cross-court winners.
The other vital difference between the two contenders was the number of break point conversions in the contest. The 12th seed German had 10 opportunities and cashed in four of them, while her counterpart came up with six out of nine serve breaks to get the upper hand in the match. Lisicki tried to post a solid resistance against her opponent’s aggression but it seemed not to be her day at the tennis court. She coughed 19 unforced errors, including three double faults and finished on the losing side in the end to let Mattek-Sands through to the second round draw of the French Open.
"It was a great win. Sabine is a great player and obviously she has had some awesome results," Mattek-Sands said of the German. "I'm feeling good. I like the clay, believe it or not. I feel comfortable on this surface. But it's still only one round - there are a few to go. But I'll still take the win tonight and enjoy it."
Mattek-Sands will next face her unseeded fellow compatriot, Sloane Stephens, in the second round of the tournament.
Tags: