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Match of the day: Day 3 of the French Open

By Justin Gincauskas

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 01: Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain plays a forehand in their ladies first round match against Sloane Stephens of The United States during day three of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 01, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 01: Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain plays a forehand in their ladies first round match against Sloane Stephens of The United States during day three of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 01, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Day three brought an end to the first-round matches at the French Open, as Wednesday will be the beginning of the second round. Tuesday’s match of the day happened to be the final women’s match of the day, as it was the battle between Sloane Stephens and Carla Suarez Navarro.

Before the draw had been released, Suarez Navarro announced that she would be playing in this year’s French Open, and that this would be her final time playing on the clay courts in Paris. This came just over a month after she announced that she was cured of her cancer, as she was diagnosed with early-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in September of last year.

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This was Suarez Navarro’s first match in well over a year, last playing in February of 2020 at the Qatar Total Open. It was a tough draw getting Sloane Stephens in the first round, as she has had success on the clay this year leading up to the French.

This was a great match from beginning to end, as both players fought the entire two hours and 24 minutes on court. In the end, it was Sloane Stephens who got the better of Suarez Navarro, winning the match in three sets 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain congratulates Sloane Stephens of The United States on victory following their ladies singles first round match during day three of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 01, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain congratulates Sloane Stephens of The United States on victory following their ladies singles first round match during day three of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on June 01, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

The first set was all Carla Suarez Navarro, as she dominated both on her first serve and on the return. Suarez Navarro won 92% of the points when making her first serve, compared to just 52% from Stephens. On the return, Suarez Navarro won 48% of the points, while Stephens only won 33%, according to Infosys Match Centre. Both players would break serve in the set, but Suarez Navarro broke twice to take the first set 6-3.

In the second set, Suarez Navarro actually had a chance to close out the match, serving for the set at 5-4. She was within two points of winning the match, but was unable to get any closer, as Sloane Stephens would break for the second time in the set, leveling the set at 5-5. After two holds of serve, the set went to a tiebreak. Suarez Navarro jumped out to the early lead in the tiebreak, going up 3-1, but would only win one of the next seven points. Sloane Stephens would take the tiebreak 7-4 and force a deciding third set.

In the third set, both players exchanged breaks of serve in the first two games, then exchanged holds of serve to keep the set even at 2-2. Stephens would then get another break in the next game, going up 3-2, but would eventually give the break back, as Suarez Navarro leveled the match at 4-4. It was then in that decisive ninth game where Stephens was able to come up clutch, breaking Suarez Navarro one last time, giving her the opportunity to serve for the match.

Stephens would not squander a lead for the third time in the set, closing it out to advance to the second round.

Even in defeat, this was an incredible performance from Carla Suarez Navarro, and she should be extremely proud at how well she performed just five weeks after announcing she had been cured of cancer. Although she did not get the result she would have hoped for, this was an incredible performance in her last match at the French Open. I wish fans were allowed in the stands during her match, since a standing ovation was definitely needed for the two-time French Open quarterfinalist.

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