Djokovic reaches third round at Roland Garros, Halep wins opener

AFP  |  Paris 

Former champion reached third round for the 13th consecutive year by beating Spanish 7-6 (7/1) 6-4 6-4 today, while women's top seed battled to victory in her opening match.

Djokovic, champion and former world number one, is seeded 20 this year after struggling to rediscover his best form after returning from a

He wasn't at his best on Court Suzanne Lenglen, but goes on to face Spain's for a place in the last 16.

The Serbian 12-time Grand Slam champion fired 39 winners but 33 unforced errors and was broken three times by Munar, the world 155.

"I am very happy to be here on Suzanne Lenglen and see so many people and see the support," said Djokovic.

"Jaume is a great player, he has lots of quality and good concentration. I congratulate him on a great match today." Bautista Agut, the 13th seed, saw off Colombian 6-4 7-5 6-3, but Czech 17th seed lost a rain-interrupted first-round match to home hope on the Philippe Chatrier 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (10/8) 1-6 5-7 6-2.

The unlikely adventure of Argentinian world number 190 Marco Trungelliti, who became the eighth lucky loser in the draw after driving back to from Barcelona, came to an end as he lost 6-1 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 to Italian in the second round.

- Halep fights back -

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World number one Halep fought back after a disastrous opening set to beat American 2-6 6-1 6-1 in their delayed first-round match.

Halep, the runner-up in in 2014 and 2017, slumped 0-5 down in the opening set to world number 83 Riske whose only win at the tournament came in 2014.

The Romanian committed 16 unforced errors in the set but stepped up a gear from that point on to book a second-round match against of the "It's always difficult in the first round of a Grand Slam, you are always nervous," said Halep.

The 26-year-old, who is still looking for a first Grand Slam title, will play for the second straight day tomorrow, after the match with Riske was pushed back from Tuesday due to rain.

"I think I'll be ready tomorrow, I feel strong in my legs," said the top seed.

"Anything can happen with the rain so all we can do is rest and try to be at our best when we step on the court." Halep needs to reach the semi-finals or better if she is to retain the world top spot.

Eighth seed eased into the third round with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Spain's on Court One.

The two-time champion has now won 13 consecutive matches on clay after claiming titles in and Madrid, and will face Estonia's 25th seed Anett Kontaveit for a place in the last 16.

Czech Kvitova, 28, has not reached the quarter-finals at since a run to the last four in 2012.

Ukrainian fourth seed reached the last 32 for the fourth straight year by brushing aside Viktoria Kuzmova in straight sets.

The 23-year-old, who arrived in having won her second straight Italian Open title, saw off her Slovakian opponent 6-3 6-4.

Svitolina, a two-time quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, will next take on Romanian 31st seed Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Elsewhere, charismatic Japanese 21st seed came through a tight match with Kazakhstan's 6-4 7-5.

The 20-year-old Osaka is seeded for the first time at a major tournament, having lifted the prestigious Indian Wells title earlier this year before beating in the following week.

Williams, who made her Grand Slam return with a singles win on Tuesday, is back in action in the doubles with sister later on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, May 30 2018. 21:00 IST