Simona Halep overcame a tough first set to defeat Zarina Diyas 7-6(5), 6-2, in the second round of the French Open.
The world No.6 was forced to come from behind on three occasions in the opening set as Diyas produced an array of outstanding shots. Trailing 1-4, Halep responded by winning four consecutive games for a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. She failed to do so as the Kazakh world No.90 battled back yet again to force a tie-break. Recovering from the disappointment of failing to serve the set out, Halep clinched the tiebreaker after a failed drop shot from Diyas.
Simona Halep souffre en ce début de match face à Diyas, mais elle tient bon. #RG16 https://t.co/Fl3MBYZXVN
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) 25 May 2016
After her tricky opening set, Halep’s form improved significantly throughout the second set as she cruised to take the match. The biggest improvement in the second set for Halep was her unforced error count. The Romanian produced only five errors during the second set compared to 17 in the first. Following her win, Halep has attributed nerves to her troublesome start.
“It was very tough at the start of the match. I lost a few games and I was very nervous.” She said during her on court interview.
“I found the rhythm (in the second set) and I was more aggressive. In the second set my serve was a lot better”
In the third round Halep will play Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who defeated Croatian veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 6-3. The 18-year-old is making her debut at Roland Garros this year, playing in the second grand slam of her career.
Petra Kvitova recovered from her roller coaster first round match with a more convincing 6-4, 6-1, win over Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh. The 2012 French Open semifinalist won 76% of her first service points and produced 27 winners to seal the victory. It is now the sixth consecutive year that Kvitova has reached the third round in Paris.
In the next round Kvitova will America’s Shelby Rogers. The world No.108 knocked out Charleston Open finalist Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2. The win takes Rogers to her second grand slam third round after the 2015 US Open. The upcoming match will be the first meeting between Kvitova and Rogers on the tour.
Svetlana Kuznetsova eased her way past Great Britain’s Heather Watson 6-1, 6-3, after just 74 minutes of play. The 13th seed will now play compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Pavlyuchenkova required almost two hours to defeat Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
