PARIS, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Angelique Kerber of Germany became the first women's top seed to crash out from French Open's first round in Open Era as she was stunned by Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the 2017 edition here on Sunday.
Kerber led 7-4 against Makarova in previous meetings, while displaying lackluster performance in clay season this year as she just had a personal best of last 16.
Kerber failed to withstand the strong forehand and backhand attack from her opponent as she lost the first set 6-2 in 38 minutes.
Makarova nailed three games in a row into the second set, before Kerber broke in the fourth game in an unfamiliar manner. Leading 5-2 into her service, Makarova sealed the victory with a powerful forehand to deny Kerber's quest for the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.
Kerber could also face a challenge of losing her top position on WTA world rankings if second-seeded Karolina Pliskova managed to make into the final.
Makarova outscored 27-16 in winners, and suffered six less unforced errors than the top seed.