Former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber fought until the end during her French Open first round match and it paid off as she saved two match points en route to beating Magdalena Frech.
Kerber, now ranked at No. 17 in the world, edged out Frech 2-6 6-3 7-5 in a French Open first round thriller.
In the first set, Frech lost her serve twice but broke Kerber four times to win the opener.
A similar scenario happened in the second time but this time Kerber lost her serve twice and claimed four breaks.
After losing the second set, Frech broke Kerber in the opening game of the third set.
Frech had two match points on her serve in the 10th game but failed to convert as Kerber broke back to the the decider to five games apiece.
Frech paid the price for not realizing her chances as Kerber broke the Pole in the 12th game when she was serving to stay in the match.
Kerber: I left my heart and everything out there
“I think there is no secret,” Kerber said, per the WTA website. “I just put everything I had today on court. I left my heart on court.
“To have the crowd like this here, it’s unbelievable. Especially in the third set, they pushed me through. To have all the support as all the fans with you, celebrating every single ball. … I was just trying as well to enjoy this, because it was such a great moment on court with the fans.”
It hasn’t been an easy season for Kerber but last week she captured her first title of the year in Strasbourg.
“I was just trying to believe in myself, taking the confidence that I got from Strasbourg,” Kerber said. “I know that I can turn around matches with match point down, and I was just trying to play point by point and run for every ball.”
Kerber will be fighting against French player Elsa Jacquemot in the second round at Roland Garros.