Konta and Robson lose in first round
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 22 May to 5 June |
| Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, the BBC Sport website and app. |
Britain’s Johanna Konta and Laura Robson went out of the French Open first round without winning a set.
Konta, the British number one and 20th seed, was outclassed 6-2 6-3 in 64 minutes by Germany’s Julia Goerges.
Robson, who has been beset by injuries over the past two years and fallen to 329 in the world rankings, lost 6-2 6-2 to German 28th seed Andrea Petkovic.
Their defeats mean Heather Watson is the only British woman through to the second round in Paris.
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Konta crashes out
Konta’s rapid rise up the rankings came on the back of upsets at the US Open, where she reached the fourth round, and Australian Open, where she made the semi-finals.
She went into the year’s second Grand Slam with hopes of another lengthy run but world number 57 Goerges played an exceptional match.
The German, who was once ranked in the top 15, crunched 30 winners in the match compared to just four from Konta.
“I try to always do a really good job of leaving my work on the court. No one died. I’m healthy,” said Konta.
“I’m not going to beat myself up too much. I think it’s always important to be kind to yourself.”
Robson’s struggles continue
Robson used her protected ranking of 58 to play in Paris but that runs out next month, meaning she will need a wildcard to get into Wimbledon.
Her ability to hit winners remains but too often the 22-year-old relied solely on her power and a tally of 37 unforced errors in 16 games against Petkovic told its own story.
Robson, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2013, will now hope for some morale-boosting wins on grass to help her move up the rankings.
Since 2014 and the start of the wrist problems that have derailed her career, Robson has not beaten a top-100 opponent.
“It’s hard to be positive right now. I feel like I had a lot of chances,” she said after her defeat.
“There were a lot of games that went to deuce, and it was also my brain switching off at deuce every time, which sucks really.
“I don’t want to be ranked 300 for very much longer. I have top 100 as a goal, then see where I go after that.”
| British players at the French Open | ||
|---|---|---|
| Draw | In | Out |
| Women: | Heather Watson (second round) | Naomi Broady, Johanna Konta, Laura Robson (first round) |
| Men: | Kyle Edmund, Aljaz Bedene, Andy Murray (second round) | None |
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