Down 6-0, Kudermetova rallies to eliminate Wozniacki at Roland Garros

After being shut out in the first set, Veronika Kudermetova knocked out Caroline Wozniacki at Roland Garros. The 68th-ranked Russian, who is also 35th in doubles, recovered to eliminate the former No. 1 and Australian Open champion, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Wozniacki came out flying and firing in a match that appeared to continue yesterday's trend of fast-paced first-rounders on Court Philippe Chatrier. But Kudermetova flipped the script in the second set as she started to find her rhythm. Her forehand, which was a liability in the first set, became lethal. In the third set, it was Wozniacki who mounted a comeback after dropping the first three games, but the Russian held her ground to pull off a Monday stunner.

"I think I played really well in the first set. I played aggressive. I played the way I wanted to play," Wozniacki said. "And then I think she got very lucky in the start of the second set and kind of, you know, took advantage of the opportunities she got.

"And then, yeah, I think I just lost a little steam in the end and I made some unforced errors that I normally don't do, so that was very frustrating. And, yeah, it is what it is. I haven't had the best lead-up to this tournament, which also has been frustrating."

A stunner based on the scoreline, at least. Before entering the tournament, Wozniacki had retired from her last two matches: in Madrid, she pulled out of her first-round match against Alize Cornet with a lower back injury; at the Italian Open, she retired against Danielle Collins while trailing 7-6. Last year, she announced she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis before the US Open.

"Obviously I had a calf injury, so I hadn't really been able to play or practice for some weeks, and then played my first points a couple of days ago and then just went from there basically," Wozniacki said.

As for Kudermetova, she will play in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The 22-year-old will face either Zarina Diyas or Audrey Albie.