Simona Halep recovers from slow start to reach French Open second round
Fellow pre-tournament favourites Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina through to third round
Wednesday 30 May 2018 15:00, UK
Simona Halep was forced to produce her best tennis to come from behind against Alison Riske and avoid a shock first-round exit.
Halep, who suffered her third defeat in the final of a major at the Australian Open, was made to wait for her bow at Roland Garros after thunderstorms had impacted the opening few days play but opened with a 2-6 6-1 6-1 win.
The 26-year-old reached the final at the event in both 2014 and 2017 is one of the pre-tournament favourites but began slowly against the world No 83 from America.
Riske, whose previous best in Paris was progress to the third round, threatened an early surprise as she secured three breaks of serve to take the early initiative.
But Halep, who made an eyebrow raising 16 unforced errors in the first set, began to impress her greater ability on the contest and quickly levelled the match with four breaks of her own.
The deciding set followed a similar pattern as the second as the Romanian increased her aggression from the back of the court, making 10 winners, to close out the match in one hour and 34 minutes.
Two-time grand slam champion Petra Kvitova recorded a comfortable 6-0 6-4 victory against Lara Arruaberra, as the eighth seed booked her passage into the third round.
Kvitova underlined her clay credentials with a dominant first set performance as she limited her opponent to only one winner.
The second set was a tighter affair on the scoreboard but the Czech player's greater weight from the back of the court proved pivotal as she avoided being taken the distance.
Another pre-tournament favourite Elina Svitolina also eased through her second round meeting with Viktoria Kuzmova 6-3 6-4 to further her backing for a maiden major title.
The Ukrainian has won three titles this season and one break of serve in the first set proved enough to edge ahead while her willingness to come to the net in the second helped her break the resistance from her 20-year-old Slovakian opponent.
