Veronika Kudermetova continued her steady rise to prominence with an impressive 7-6(5) 6-1 win over 2019 semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova in the first round of the 2021 French Open.
The Russian, 24, is a rising star in the women’s game. She rose steadily through the rankings in the early years of her career and broke into the top 50 in September 2019.
However, Kudermetova struggled to take the next step. She remained at a similar ranking for over 12 months. Finally, she made the breakthrough she was striving earlier this year. She beat two top 30 players en route to her first WTA final in Abu Dhabi in January. Then she won the WTA 500 event on the Charleston clay without dropping a set to earn a place in the top 32 for the first time.
Those results earned the Russian seeded status at a Grand Slam for the first time at this year’s French Open. And if she was disappointed that her seeding had not led to a more favourable draw than the World No.41, she did not show it. She produced an excellent performance to take down a dangerous opponent.
It could have gone very differently, as Anisimova is one of the best young players in the world. Even though she is still only 19, she has already reached a Grand Slam semi-final and spent 21 consecutive months inside the world’s top 32. Although she recently dropped to 41, she remains an exceptional talent capable of troubling anyone on the tour.
Both women play well in high-quality first set
The first set was closely-fought. It suggested the match might develop into the riveting contest it always had the potential to be. Both the Russian and the American performed well on serve to secure three holds apiece and make it 3-3.
Kudermetova then went on the attack. She hit a searing winner to earn a break point and Anisimova surrendered her serve with an unforced error. However, she responded superbly and hit a series of excellent forehands to break back straight away.
The Russian again forged ahead by earning another break in the 11th game. But she failed to capitalise on her advantage. She made two unforced errors and a double fault to allow the American to level the set at 6-6.
Kudermetova shines after stunning tie-break
Kudermetova made an error early in the tie-break and slapped her forehead in frustration. Then she re-focused and unleashed a glorious forehand winner to restore parity. The Russian followed that with an equally impressive backhand winner. Then she crunched an even better forehand into the corner to earn two set points.
Anisimova did well to save the first set point. But she gifted Kudermetova an easy opening with a weak second serve and the Russian calmly hit a backhand into the open side of the court to seal the set.
The chances of an epic encounter soon faded in the second set. Kudermetova took control of the majority of the rallies and won almost all of the most important points within the games. Consequently, even though most of the games were close and Anisimova hit some eye-catching winners, the Russian won them all to establish a 5-0 lead.
The American restored some pride by holding serve. But she seemed powerless in the next game as Kudermetova clinched victory by breezing to the first love hold of the match.
The Russian will face either Katerina Siniakova or Marie Bouzkova in the second round. If she makes it through, she could set up an intriguing last-32 clash with 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
