Clara Tauson enjoys Roland Garros reset after Charleston injury

WATCH: Tauson has turned heads in her first full year on tour with audacious shot-making, like this tweener.

To the delight of tennis fans around the world, this year's clay-court swing unfolded like many before the pandemic—the big tournaments were (mostly) all there, even if the fans weren't attending in their normal numbers. One fan watching at home with particular interest was Danish teenager Clara Tauson.

The self-described “Wikipedia of tennis results”—and Top 100 teenager—would have hoped to compete for maiden appearances in the likes of the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but a shocking leg injury at the MUSC Women’s Health Open truncated her European campaign to just two tournaments before Roland Garros.

“It was pretty difficult,” she recalled from Paris. “I have never retired from a match before, so I was really sad about that, and the fact that I couldn't play my best in Charleston, it was so tough mentally. Coming back, I just tried to get over it and start working again.

“The recovery was pretty fast. Thankfully it wasn't the knee, specifically, it was some muscles around it, so it was healing pretty fast.”

Tauson was the talk of the early 2021 season when she blazed to her first WTA title at the Open 6ème Sens Métropole de Lyon, and had already proven her bona fides on clay last fall when she stunned Jennifer Brady at this very tournament in her Grand Slam main-draw debut.

“Last year I was a qualifier. I was just happy to be here," she says. "Of course, I'm still happy to be here, but now I want to win some matches and play some good tennis and see how far it goes.”

Unseeded in Paris, the 18-year-old was initially drawn to face an on-fire Paula Badosa before American Alison Riske’s withdrawal caused a reshuffle that set her instead against Georgian qualifier Ekaterine Gorgodze, who lacked in experience but made up for in momentum.

The teenager shook off an unremarkable 1-2 record since her Charleston retirement to weather a tense opening set with a single break of serve.

“It's been a tough couple of weeks. I haven't really gotten the matches I wanted to. Today I was just going out there with the mindset of playing my game and see what happens.”

Rallying from an early break in the second, she reeled off the final six games of the match to secure a 6-4, 6-2 win, and second-round encounter with former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. A year removed from her quiet breakthrough against Brady, Tauson got to celebrate a more straightforward victory in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

“It was really nice today," she said of the atmosphere. "Some Danish people also were there. It was actually really nice to have people clapping when you play a good point. Sometimes it's a little depressing when no one is clapping after you hit a winner!”

A compatriot of Caroline Wozniacki, Tauson often draws a strong stylistic contrast between her and the former world No. 1, preferring a far more aggressive style that requires extra patience when employed on clay courts.

“Surprises happen every week, so I think now I’ve learned more and more, that surprises are more normal, because first round, second round, it's always really difficult also for top players. I don't get too surprised anymore, I think.”

“I think maybe sometimes I change my game too much! Here the courts are a little bit faster, which I really like compared to other European clay courts. I'm really comfortable here because it suits my game, and my serve, and everything. I'm just trying to play aggressive and then I make more mistakes on clay, and it's more mental. I think I have to prepare for clay because I know I make more mistakes.”

Twelve months ago—heck, ten weeks ago—Tauson may have been tagged as a surprise pick to pull off an upset. It’s her experience as a fan as much as a player that has instead taught her to expect the unexpected as she aims to continue her rise up the rankings.

“Surprises happen every week, so I think now I’ve learned more and more, that surprises are more normal, because first round, second round, it's always really difficult also for top players. I don't get too surprised anymore, I think.”