Spanish tennis player and former world number six, Carla Suarez Navarro has an incredible record at the French Open. She made multiple quarter-final appearances in Paris, and even reached the doubles semi-finals in 2014 Roland Garros, along with Garbine Muguruza.

However, when tennis resumed after a hiatus of six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suarez revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer( Hodgkin Lymphoma).

The Spaniard went through six months of chemotherapy and became cancer-free with sheer will and determination. Immediately after recovery, Suarez focused on staying fit as she announced her decision to have a farewell WTA tour this year.

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In her first-tournament of her farewell tour, Carla Suarez Navarro stunned the 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens. The Spaniard also received encouraging messages from fellow players like Madison Keys and Sania Mirza.

“So good to see you back Carla!”, Keys wrote on Twitter.

Indian doubles tennis star Sania Mirza was watching Suarez Navarro’s incredible fight against Stephens and posted on Instagram, “How amazing to see you back, Carla Suarez Navarro. Not just healthy, but playing incredible tennis”. 

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Carla Suarez Navarro lost the second set after serving for the match

Coming to the first-round match, the Spaniard was serving for the match after breaking Stephens’ serve. But, the American was too resilient in giving up the match too early as she broke back immediately to level the second set at 5-5.

The second set went to a tie-breaker, where it was the American who just narrowly managed to get the better of Navarro and leveled the match.

The third-set was a roller-coaster ride with the Spaniard breaking Stephens in the first game and immediately lost her serve in the next. In comparison, it was the American who looked exhausted as she kept making a lot of unforced errors.

Suarez Navarro maintained that one-game deficit right till the end of the third set. When Stephens was serving at 4-3, the Spaniard got into the groove and hit a couple of backhand winners to level the set.

However, the same pattern repeated Navarro lost her immediate service game to the American. The Spaniard fought till the end but Stephens got through her service game with much difficulty and won the match 3-6,7-6(4),6-4.

Also read: All You Need to Know About Carla Suarez Navarro and Her Comeback at French Open 2021