Mexican tennis player Renata Zarazúa fought hard but was eliminated in the second round of the Roland Garros French Open on Wednesday, losing to the tournament’s third seed Elina Svitolina.
Zarazúa, ranked 178th in the world, took on the Ukranian, ranked fifth-best, on her birthday and in her first-ever Grand Slam appearance. Although Zarazúa managed to win the second set 6-0 in just 29 minutes, Svitolina took the first and third, knocking the Mexico City native out of competition.
The 23-year-old lost the serve twice as the duel began and appeared nervous, committing double faults, but recovered to sweep the second set. However, it was not enough to propel her to victory. Throughout the match, Svitolina had just six unforced errors compared to Zarazúa’s 18.
“Renata played very well, hit good shots and forced me to take risks. Then I was able to regain control of the game,” said the Ukrainian.
Despite the disappointing result for Zarazúa and her fans, the tennis player’s mere appearance in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament marked a historic moment for Mexican tennis.
On Monday she defeated French wildcard player Elsa Jacquemot 6-1 and 6-2, making her the first female tennis player from Mexico to advance to the second round at the French Open in 20 years.
Zarazúa, who has a record of 201 wins and 151 losses in singles matches, came close to winning the Mexican Open in Acapulco earlier this year.
Source: Milenio (sp)
