Ashleigh Barty struggles in opener
World No.1 overcomes injury and survive Bernarda Pera scare to enter second round
Paris: Reigning World No.1 and French Open champion from 2019 Ashleigh Barty had a tough opening round against American Bernarda Pera but still pulled off a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory to move into the second round on Tuesday.
The Australian required treatment to her back after she dropped the second set but grabbed a crucial service break in the decider to set up a showdown with Magda Linette or Chloe Paquet.
“It’s so special to back. I was disappointed not to be able to play last year, but this court is incredible for me, it’s very close to my heart and it’s very nice to be able to play here in front of fans,” Barty told Fabrice Santoro in her on-court interview.
Ukrainian No.5 seed Elina Svitolina was tested in the second set but safely secured her passage to the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over French wildcard Oceane Babel earlier on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Svitolina, a three-time quarterfinalist in Paris, rallied back from a break down in the second set against the inspired 17-year-old lefty before setting up a last-64 clash with American Ann Li.
Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady, the No.13 seed, debuted her new coaching partnership with Brad Stine by claiming a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anastasija Sevastova.
Greek No.17 seed Maria Sakkari made a comfortable start to her Roland-Garros campaign, easing past Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska 6-4, 6-1 in 88 minutes to book a last-64 meeting with Italian Jasmine Paolini.
Tunisian No.25 seed Ons Jabeur, who last year became the first Arab woman in history to reach the fourth round at Roland-Garros, survived a turbulent opening set before dismissing two-time quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 6-2.
The 26-year-old will take on Australian wildcard Astra Sharma in the second round, which would be a rematch of their Charleston final from earlier this year.
Sharma, who defeated Jabeur in that decider to lift her maiden WTA title in April, advanced in Paris on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Romanian qualifier Irina Bara.
Home favourite Fiona Ferro shook off a stiff challenge from Taiwanese qualifier Liang En-Shuo to squeeze through 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Australian No.21 seed Alex de Minaur claimed a straight-sets victory over Italian Stefano Travaglia and is through to the Roland-Garros second round for just the second time in five visits to the French capital.
De Minaur next faces former semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato, who bounced back from a set down to eliminate Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
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