Kaia Kanepi ousts Garbine Muguruza from the French Open

Kaia Kanepi is all smiles after her upset of Garbine Muguruza at the French Open

Kaia Kanepi played the role of a knockout star at the French Open Sunday afternoon. The Estonian earned her 15^th slam win against a seeded player and her first against Garbine Muguruza winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Court Simone Mathieu at Roland Garros. This marked the second year in a row the 2016 champion went out in the opening round in Paris. 

The two met for the first time in eight years, with a three-set battle at the Australian Open. The Spaniard went on to take the win against Kanepi, leaving a gap in how they would play against one another. Muguruza remains inconsistent this season, going just a pair of matches before being eliminated in tournaments. 

In her first appearance at Rabat, the world number ten was ousted in the second round after a three-set roller coaster. Though she had five matches on clay, the challenge would stand strong for the Estonian, who had a lot of time to play in Paris, winning three matches at the WTA 125 event. She carried 14 seed defeats in majors, making herself dangerous for Muguruza. 

The Estonian took the first game on serve before Muguruza had the balls in hand. During her service, rain began to fall on the court, but not enough to suspend play. The 28-year-old had a struggle on serve, shaking off the rust to erase three breakpoints for Kanepi. Muguruza fought through two breaks to get the AD point and clear her way to level the score early. Muguruza scored a break to love in the following game that gave Muguruza the moment and an eight-point streak. Kanepi got into the fifth game, digging in on serve while battling her backhand shot that caused the gap. 

Kanepi managed to avoid the double break with a win on deuce, putting her a game down of the Spaniard. The competition was on in the sixth when Muguruza trailed on the scoreboard but forced deuce on serve. She played a 15-shot rally in the game before taking it to gain a two-game lead on the Estonian. It was three for the Spaniard when Kanepi double-faulted twice in the seventh, giving Muguruza plenty of breathing room to close the set out. The tenth seed handled her game and took the first on a second serve forehand smash completing 37 minutes of action.

The tenth seed opened the second set with a dominant form that earned her a 2-0 lead on Kanepi. The 36-year-old found her way into the set with three straight backhand winners against Muguruza. She wanted to secure a break of the tenth seed, but Kanepi’s game wasn’t up to par to get it. She got the serve locked down in the fifth, but the gap remained in favor of Muguruza. 

Kanepi found her range on the backhand, scoring a much-needed win in the sixth. Her actions swung the momentum in what was a run for the Spaniard. The Estonian served for the lead and secured it with a dominant response to Muguruza, who was on the ropes. The 36-year-old reached 5-3 in the set, serving for her chance to push the tenth seed the distance. With two breaks in hand, Kanepi achieved two set points but was denied one of them by the fighting Spaniard. The Estonian showed no emotion and fired a shot that forced an error to end the set in 30 minutes. Muguruza struggled with the second serve while Kanepi improved the serve while notching 15 winners. 

The tenth seed opened the third and found herself trailing fast. Kanepi had three breakpoints to play with, but Muguruza was determined to keep her service locked down and achieved just that. The two held serve through four games with the last one being hard-fought. Muguruza and Kanepi got to deuce and fought three breaks where the Estonian, scored the win on serve to deny the tenth seed a break she so desperately wanted. 

Muguruza gained back the lead in the fifth, eyeing a long error from Kanepi that ended the game and made her feel confident to push back. Kanepi silenced the Spaniard with her first serve to love in the match, which was a big statement. Muguruza continued to hold serve, putting herself two games away from the match. Kanepi kept the score level and went for a big push in the ninth to take a fundamental break from the tenth seed. 

It earned the Estonian a chance to serve for the match and a huge upset in the tenth game. Muguruza played well early, setting up well in the middle of the court for a 30-15 lead. Two long balls turned things around for Kanepi, who reached match point and watched another long ball fall in front of her to secure a massive victory that took two hours and six minutes.