Two-time major champion Petra Kvitova rallies back from the brink as second-seeded Osaka advances
© Philippe Montigny/FFTCzech No.11 seed Petra Kvitova saved a match point en route to a hard-fought 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-1 win over Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round at Roland-Garros on Sunday.
Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and two-time Roland-Garros semi-finalist, hit 11 double faults and needed two hours and 16 minutes to overcome an inspired Minnen and set up a second round against Elena Vesnina or Olga Govortsova.
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka enjoyed a confident start to her Roland-Garros campaign with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Romanian world No.63 Patricia Maria Tig on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to extend her winning streak at the Grand Slams to 15 matches in a row.
The Japanese No.2 seed is looking to make it beyond the third round in Paris for the first time in her career and produced a calm and commanding performance to pass her first test.
Osaka, who has won her last two consecutive majors but did not compete at Roland-Garros last year, is seeking a fifth Grand Slam title, and first on a surface other than hard court.
Her one-hour 47-minute success over Tig was just her second clay-court match-win of the season - from four matches contested - and she will now take on another Romanian, Ana Bogdan, who knocked out Italian lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-3.
"I would say it's a work in progress. Hopefully the more I play, the better it will get," Osaka said of the state of her current clay-court game.
Tig, whose best Paris performance came last year when she made the third round, was facing a top-10 player for the first time.
The 26-year-old saved 8/10 break points and swatted away a match point to force a second-set tiebreak but ultimately succumbed in straight sets.
Over on Court 14, No.26 seed and former world No.1 Angelique Kerber crashed out of the first round 6-2, 6-4 to Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina.
The German three-time major champion has now lost her opener in Paris five times in the last six years.
"I think I had a late start, especially I started to play better in the second set, but yeah, I don't know. I think she played good. I was not able to play my best tennis or like how I practiced in the last few days," said the 33-year-old Kerber.
"I think I have to accept that and looking forward to the next challenge."
Kalinina has yet to drop a set through four matches so far this week in Paris, having breezed through three qualifying rounds before advancing to the main-draw second round.
Spain's Paula Badosa, who won the Belgrade title a week ago, kept up her great form this season to ease past American Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6(3).
Her compatriot and two-time Roland-Garros quarter-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta joined her in round two with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Norbert Gombos of Slovakia.
Italian No.27 seed Fabio Fognini dispatched home favourite Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in just over two hours, but there was French delight for 177th-ranked wildcard Enzo Couacaud, who moved into the Roland-Garros second round for the second time in three years 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-3 over Belarusian world No.78 Egor Gerasimov.
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
