‘Frustrated’ Wozniacki says opponent got ‘lucky’ after French Open loss

PARIS, France – Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was left “frustrated” after collapsing to a 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to world No. 68 Veronika Kudermetova in the French Open first round and told her opponent she “got lucky.”

The Danish 13th seed had retired injured from her two previous matches in the lead-up to Roland Garros, but looked to have found form in a one-sided opening set on Monday, May 27.

Last year’s Australian Open champion lost her way in the 2nd set, though, making 10 unforced errors, but said her opponent was fortunate to turn the match around.

“I think she got very lucky at the start of the 2nd set and took advantage of the opportunities she got,” said Wozniacki. 

“I ran out of steam in the end and made some unforced errors that I don’t usually do, so that was very frustrating.”

“She had a few net chords and good shots on some of the important points at the start of the 2nd set.”

“It’s definitely frustrating. You want to win, you work hard and you want to see results.”

“It hasn’t been a great year for me so far, so I’m going to work hard and try and turn it around.”

The 22-year-old Russian Kudermetova cruised to victory in the decider on a sparsely-populated Court Philippe Chatrier to claim the biggest win of her career.

She will face either Kazak Zarina Diyas or French wildcard Audrey Albie in the second round, having only made her main-draw debut at a Grand Slam event with a first-round Australian Open loss in January.

“I was a little bit nervous at the start of the match, but I took it game by game and tried to be more aggressive,” said the Russian.

For Wozniacki now, her focus will turn to the grass court season, in which she has struggled in the past – never having reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

“I haven’t had the best lead-up to this tournament,” she said. 

“I had a calf injury so haven’t really been able to play or practice for a couple of weeks.”

“My calf now feels good so that’s a positive so I’m definitely going to go back and work hard and get ready for the grass season.”

It was the first time Wozniacki had lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon 3 years ago.

“I just have to try and stay positive, and obviously it’s not as easy to stay positive when things aren’t going your way,” she added. – Rappler.com