Bertens started her beloved tournament in Paris without high expectations. De Wateringse has had a difficult 2021 so far and the last few weeks have been downright tough. The recovery from her Achilles tendon surgery took much longer than she hoped, and her return to the job was disappointing. At the end of last month, Bertens only booked her first victory of this season on the WTA tour.
As a precaution, Bertens, who has now dropped to seventeenth position in the world ranking, skipped the tournament in Rome and Belgrade to give her Achilles tendon some extra rest. However, it turned out to make little difference on Monday morning.
The Dutch started her match against Hercog very poorly and immediately handed in her first three service games. The Slovenian did keep her serve, which meant that Bertens was 0-5 behind in no time. She took another break back, but in the game after that, the Dutch gave up her service for the fourth time, losing the first set without a chance: 1-6. In the meantime, Bertens’ frustrations were running high.
In the second act it all started to run a lot better at Bertens. It was now not the Dutch, but the Slovenian who struggled to keep its service games. Bertens played well, took the initiative a lot more and ran to a 4-1 lead. Hercog came back to 3-4, but Bertens did not let her opponent come further. She eventually took the second set with 6-3.
In the deciding set, Bertens ran out to a 2-0 lead. Hercog showed character, broke back immediately and with an easy service game she made it 2-2. Still, things seemed to be going well for the Dutch who, not much later, faced a 4-2 lead again. However, Hercog took four games in a row and sent a frustrated Bertens home.
