French Open: Former finalists Stephens, Pavlyuchenkova advance

PARIS: Former finalists Sloane Stephens, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Marketa Vondrousova started their respective campaigns on a winning note while Ukraines Elina Svitolina made a victorious comeback to Grand Slam action at the French Open on Monday. The 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens took out No.16 seed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-4 in 1 hour and 24 minutes in a first-round matchup between two former Top 3 players in women’s singles. The 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova soon joined her in the second round, racing past Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 6-2 in 70 minutes while the 2019 finalist Marketa Vondrousova dismissed Alycia Parks 6-4, 6-0 in 71 minutes to start her campaign on a positive note. The former World No.3 Svitolina made a victorious comeback to Grand Slam action by toppling No.26 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-2, 6-2 to book a spot in the second round of the clay-court major.

In her first Grand Slam event since the 2022 Australian Open, Svitolina continued her resurgent return from maternity leave by ousting last year’s Roland Garros semifinalist Trevisan after just 70 minutes of play. Trevisan was also a Roland Garros quarterfinalist in 2020. Minutes apart, Madison Keys and Kayla Day both secured passage to the second round of women’s singles, where they will square off in an all-American showdown. Keys, the No.20 seed, beat Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, while qualifier Day ousted French wildcard Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-1. (IANS)

Also Read: Novak Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits

Also Watch: