French Open PIX: Halep rallies to advance, Kvitova through

IMAGES from matches played on Day 4 of the French Open at Roland Garros on Wednesday

Romania's Simona Halep plays backhand during first round match against United States' Alison Riske

IMAGE: Romania's Simona Halep plays backhand during first round match against United States' Alison Riske. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

World number one and top seed Simona Halep recovered from a horrible first set to reach the second round of the French Open with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Alison Riske of the United States on Wednesday.

Halep slumped to 0-5  in the opening set to world number 83 Riske whose only win at the tournament came in 2014.

 

The Romanian, a runner-up in 2014 and 2017, committed 16 unforced errors in the set but stepped up a gear from that point on to book a second-round match against Taylor Townsend of the United States.

Impressive Kvitova eases in French Open last 32

Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova plays a forehand during her second round match against Spain's Lara Arruabarrena

IMAGE: Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova plays a forehand during her second round match against Spain's Lara Arruabarrena. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Eighth seed Petra Kvitova eased into the French Open third round with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Spain's Lara Arruabarrena.

The two-time Wimbledon champion will face either Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru or Estonia's 25th seed Anett Kontaveit for a place in the last 16.

Czech Kvitova has not reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros since a run to the last four in 2012.

The 28-year-old raced through the opening set in only 24 minutes, and although she was pegged back after an early break in the second, a booming forehand sealed victory with a third straight game.

Svitolina canters into third round in Paris

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in action during her second round match against Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova

IMAGE: Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in action during her second round match against Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Elina Svitolina saw off Roland Garros debutante Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round of the French Open on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian fourth seed, coming off a successful defence of her title in Rome, played solid tennis throughout to set up a meeting with Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Kuzmova, having beaten 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone in the first round, was no pushover in the opening set but there was little she could do when the Ukrainian stepped up a gear.

After an early trade of breaks in the second set, Svitolina, twice a quarter-finalist in Paris, broke her opponent's serve again for 4-3 and held to close it out without a scare.

'Road-trip Marco' runs out of gas in Paris

Argentina's Marco Trungelliti in action during his second round match against Italy's Marco Cecchinato in their 2nd round match

IMAGE: Argentina's Marco Trungelliti in action during his second round match against Italy's Marco Cecchinato in their 2nd round match. Photograph: Charles Platiau/Reuters

Marco Trungelliti's Roland Garros adventure came to an end on Wednesday, when the Argentine who made an 11th-hour, 1,000km hire car dash with his 88-year-old granny to reach the tournament on time, finally ran out of gas.

Trungelliti, who drove from Barcelona with his grandmother, mother and younger brother to sign in as a Lucky Loser to claim a place in the main draw, was beaten 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-1 by Italian Marco Cecchinato.

It was a low-key exit for the man who had been the talk of the tournament, but having beaten Australia's Bernie Tomic in his opener, his exploits over the last few days have earned him 79,000 euros ($91,860).