Kerber, who only had a personal best record of a last 16 in this clay season, failed to withstand the strong forehand and backhand attacks from her opponent as she lost the first set 6-2 in 38 minutes.
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Defending French Open champion Garbine Muguruza has lost the first set of her second-round match against Anett Kontaveit.
Caroline Wozniacki claimed the first double bagel of the tournament against Canada’s Francoise Abanda, but it was not a good day for Ekaterina Makarova, conqueror of top seed Angelique Kerber in round one but knocked out 6-2 6-2 by Lesia Tsurenko.
“I’m happy with the game, of course”, Kvitova said, “but I mean, it wasn’t really about the game today”. Anisimova, ranked 267, eventually went down 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a seesaw match that lasted just over 2-1/2 hours.
In her first match of the year the two-time Wimbledon champion beat Julia Boserup in straight sets, the Czech visibly emotional upon securing passage to round two.
The pain of Kerber, whose relatively limited game still brought her last year’s Australian and US Open titles, was offset by the player who preceded her on court, Petra Kvitova.
She had originally targeted a return at Wimbledon, but made quicker progress than anyone had dared hope.
Kvitova played remarkably well considering the circumstances and showed the weight of the occasion only at the end, dropping her racket to the clay and turning to her support camp with hand over mouth in disbelief.
In one other early result of significance, 2015 U.S. Open runner-up Roberta Vinci exited the French Open in the first round for the fourth year in a row. Stay tuned to see how the action unfolds at Roland Garros.
Kvitova demonstrated the resolve that made her the grand slam champion she is.
In Paris, she managed to win her opening match but the gritty and experienced Mattek-Sands was too much of a hurdle. This year, I mean, the expectations are much bigger, especially in the big tournaments and the Grand Slams.
If Kvitova was crying for joy, another double Grand Slam victor who followed her onto the main Philippe Chatrier showcourt, World No. 1 Angelique Kerber, cut a troubled figure in gaining an unwelcome distinction that brought a hard season to a new low. “I’m glad he finally admitted that he owes me money because for many years he wouldn’t admit that he owed me money”. Mixing winners and unforced errors in nearly equal measure, Kvitova had three break points to go 4-0 up but Boserup saw them off, although she could not overturn all the advantage. “I had a few chances in the first set and also in the second set, and I didn’t make it. I’m not here to sit and talk with you guys, but – that’s nice, as well”, a smiling Kvitova told reporters. “I really am looking forward to being there”, added the Czech.
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Turning to her family and coaching staff, all of them wearing black T-shirts bearing the words “courage and belief”, Kvitova said her form was irrelevant.
