Texas product Peyton Stearns impresses top 10 opponent despite French Open loss
Peyton Stearns' dream debut at the 2023 French Open has finally come to an end.
Ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina decimated the former Longhorn 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour, ending Stearns' run in the third round. Stearns will climb from her initial ranking of No. 69 in the world to No. 56.
Despite the former NCAA singles champion winning only one game, Kasatkina had plenty of praise for her opponent. She insisted after the match that the score was not indicative of the high level of tennis from Stearns.
"The score doesn’t show what was going on on the court," Kasatkina said. "Everything was going my way, but the level of tennis was high. After the first set, I knew that everything could change, and I was extremely focused, and two times more than before the actual match.
"Today was not her day, but I think she has a bright future with all the strokes."
In the second round, Stearns earned her first career top 20 win by defeating 2017 champion and No. 17 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. It was the biggest win in Stearns' meteoric rise through the standings, as she began 2023 ranked outside the top 200.
More: Bohls: Texas' Peyton Stearns is on the fast track to stardom in women's tennis
While her time playing singles in Paris is over, Stearns still has a chance in doubles. The former Texas star and partner Alycia Parks will face Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez on Saturday at a time that's to be decided.
Miguel Reyes-Varela, another Texas ex, is still alive in the men's doubles draw. Currently ranked 49th in doubles, Reyes-Varela and partner Aleksandr Nedovyesov will take on No. 1-seeded Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof on Saturday at a time to be determined.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas' Peyton Stearns impresses Daria Kasatkina in French Open loss
