Tagger at the French Open

LIVE: Tagger breaks serve—is there still a chance?

Lilli Tagger(Bild: GEPA)

Her dream debut didn’t pan out, but she certainly put up a good fight: Lilli Tagger was eliminated on Sunday in the first round of the French Open at Roland Garros by China’s Xinyu Wang. The final score was 3-6, 6-3, and 4-6.

Lilli Tagger’s Grand Slam career got off to a most peculiar start. She stepped onto Court 9 right on time at 11 a.m. But there was no sign of her opponent. Somewhat bewildered, the East Tyrolean looked around; even the experienced umpire Allison Hughes seemed surprised. It was a rare scenario in tennis. It wasn’t until 11:06 a.m. that Wang Xinyu stepped onto the court with an apology on her lips. The delay could cost her a fine of up to $20,000, though disqualification would only be considered after a delay of at least 15 minutes.

Here are the match stats:

Tagger also got off to an early start in the match compared to her opponent. She broke the Chinese player right away, then held her own serve with strong serves to go up 2-0.

(Bild: AFP/JULIEN DE ROSA)

Second serve was too weak
Then, however, the East Tyrolean’s rhythm broke down. On the one hand, because her second serve invited Wang to score easy points; on the other, because the world No. 32 also defended well, forcing Tagger into longer rallies and often into errors. In addition, Wang increasingly attacked the Austrian’s one-handed backhand with high balls. That’s how she took the first set 6-3.

But the 18-year-old showed once again that one of her greatest strengths is her mental toughness and ability to keep a cool head. She reduced her error rate, served more powerfully, and no longer allowed easy return winners—and in turn took the second set 6-3.

(Bild: GEPA)

Lilli’s forehand falteredag
 In the decisive set, however, the favored Chinese player was mostly in control during the rallies. Tagger’s forehand, which she had worked on extensively in recent weeks, often flew out or into the net. In the final stages, Wang also threw Lilli off balance with drop shots. Tagger didn’t give up, fighting her way back courageously from 1-5 to 3-5 and even to 4-5 with a second break. But then her forehand let her down again, and she served a double fault at 15-30. Ultimately, Tagger’s Grand Slam debut ended with a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 loss.

But she had already stated before the match that the result was secondary compared to her development as a player. Her father Stefan echoed this sentiment: “It’s great that she’s already in the tournament here at 18. Lilli is still in the early stages of her development.”