Emma Navarro on wrong side of history after 6-0, 6-1 Roland Garros thrashing
Emma Navarro’s French Open campaign ended in shocking fashion on Monday – with the ninth seed winning just *one” game in her round-one contest.
It took just 57 minutes for world No 68 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro to seal a stunning 6-0, 6-1 victory inside Court Suzanne Lenglen, handing her US opponent one of the heaviest defeats of her career.
Things could have been even worse for Navarro, with Bouzas Maneiro having served for the match at 6-0, 5-0 up before a slight wobble closing out the match.
It is the first time the Spaniard has won a match at Roland Garros, having lost in the opening round of her tournament debut in 2024.
“Right now I just feel really happy how I played today, how I was handling pressure and nerves for the first round here,” said the Spaniard.
“Last year was tough for me and I wanted to do my best, and I think I did it, so happy for that.
“I just think that everything is possible, I try to play my best every match. I have my team here, I knew that I have a lot of support and we prepared as well for the match as we could.
“Of course I didn’t expect this score, this result. But yeah, I’m happy.”
It is not the first time that Bouzas Maneiro has caused a big shock in the opening round of a Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old’s only previous top-10 win came at Wimbledon last summer, where she stunned defending champion and sixth seed Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets.
And, the Spaniard has now once again found herself making history at a major tournament.
In the past four decades, only two other women have conceded just one game in a completed match against a top-10 opponent in Paris.
Those two women are Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, meaning that Bouzas Maneiro finds herself in extraordinary company.
French Open News
Novak Djokovic admits ‘I have to be realistic’ despite ‘breaking the title ice’
Chris Evert identifies a big factor in Iga Swiatek’s slide and gives a brutal aura verdict
Second seed Graf thrashed eighth seed Gabriela Sabatini 6-1, 6-0 in the 1995 quarter-finals, while top seed Williams dispatched fifth seed Sara Errani 6-0, 6-1 in the 2013 semi-finals.
The manner of the defeat will be a chastening run for world No 9 Navarro, who reached the fourth round in Roland Garros twelve months ago.
In fact, Navarro had reached at least the fourth round of the last four major tournaments, with quarter-final showings at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and a US Open semi-final run last year.
It is the first time since the 2023 US Open that the 24-year-old has been beaten in the opening round of the Slam, and she just about managed to avoid equalling an unfortunate record.
Her break of serve at 6-0, 5-0 down meant she avoided becoming just the second top-10 seed to lose 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round of Roland Garros.
Back in 1977, sixth seed Lesley Hunt was handed a double bagel by Viviana Marina González Locicero.
Read Next: The 9 women with most weeks inside top 2, featuring Navratilova, Graf, Williams, Swiatek
