Top-seeded Andy Murray overcame losing his first set to defeat Martin Klizan of Slovakia on Thursday and advance to the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros.
Murray, who lost in last year’s tournament final, was broken at the beginning of the final set before returning the favor on the ninth game en route to posting a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory at Paris.
“I expected it to be very tough,” the 30-year-old Murray said of facing the 50th-ranked Klizan. “He goes for huge shots. He can hit forehand winners from anywhere on the court. Sometimes you think you’ve hit a good shot and he comes up with unbelievable power from very defensive positions and makes winners. It’s very tough.”
Murray of Scotland advances to face 29th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who moved on after Spaniard Nicolas Almagro retired in the third set because of an injured left knee. The two traded 6-3 wins and were knotted at 1-all in the third set when Almagro fell to his back, prompting del Potro to climb over the net and check on his opponent.
“In my opinion Juan Martin plays better than what his ranking is,” Murray said. “He’s come back from injuries and he’s had a lot of tough draws this year. I think he’s played Novak (Djokovic) a couple of times. He’s played a lot of top 10 players very early in the tournament. But he’s playing well this year and it will be a tough match.”
Third-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who was the 2015 French Open champion, hit 45 winners to best Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Seventh-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic benefited from 11 aces to breeze to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Konstantin Kravchuk, spoiling the Russian’s debut at Roland Garros. The seventh-seeded Cilic advances to face Feliciano Lopez, who outlasted fellow Spaniard and 30th-seeded David Ferrer 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Eighth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan posted a 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (5) victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Frenchman Gael Monfils, who is seeded 15th, had little issue dispatching Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro, recording a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 triumph.
Eighteenth-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios was not as fortunate as South Africa’s Kevin Anderson rebounded after dropping the first set to notch a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win.
Unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over 13th-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
Khachanov collected 12 aces in the win and advances to face 21st-seeded American John Isner, who secured a 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory over Italian Paolo Lorenzi.
Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, who is seeded 22nd, produced a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Nicolas Kicker of Argentina while 24th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet breezed to a 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 win over Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic.
Fabio Fognini, the tournament’s 28th seed, recorded a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win over fellow Italian Andreas Seppi.
Unseeded Hyeon Chung of South Korea and Kyle Edmund of Great Britain recorded straight-set victories on Thursday. Spain’s Fernando Verdasco had a much tougher time of it, posting a 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Svitolina gains berth in third round at French Open
Elina Svitolina has been enjoying a splendid season and it is continuing during the early stages of the French Open.
The fifth-seeded Svitolina lost the opening set Thursday before recovering to post a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova to advance to the third round at Roland Garros in Paris.
Svitolina delivered 32 winners and dominated the final two sets after finding herself at a disadvantage.
“I didn’t play her before, but I know her for many years,” Svitolina said afterward. “I watched couple of matches of hers. I knew what to expect from her.
“I think today she was playing really very good. I was just waiting for my chance … because I didn’t play that bad in the first set, but I think she was playing really amazing from the start.”
The 22-year-old Ukrainian has won four tournaments this season and her torrid play has made her one of the favorites to win at Roland Garros. Her third-round opponent will be Poland’s Magda Linette, who produced a 6-0, 7-5 upset of 29th-seeded Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
“We know each other pretty good. We see each other almost each week on each tournament,” Svitolina said of Linette. “I know what to expect. I’m going to prepare. I have a day off tomorrow, so I’m going to just work on some things — what I have to do, and just play my game.
“I will just take it easy and be ready for next match, next opponent, and there’s going to be a tough one, of course, but I’m going to be there and be ready for it.”
Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic lost a set but finished strong to register a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
Pliskova struggled in the second set when Alexandrova delivered seven winners and three aces. But she recovered in the final set to reach the third round.
Pliskova will face German Carina Witthoeft, who recorded a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over France’s Pauline Parmentier.
Third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania was a straight-set winner, producing a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany’s Tatjana Maria.
Halep has been dealing with a left ankle injury but didn’t appear hampered while dispatching Maria.
Halep next faces 26th-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina, who recorded a 7-6 (1), 6-4 win over Czech Republic qualifier Marketa Vondrousova.
Ninth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska received a surprise test from Belgium qualifier Alison Van Uytvanck before notching a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Radwanska has been plagued by a right foot injury and has won consecutive matches for the first time since a January tournament in Sydney.
“I have been struggling with my health for a couple of weeks,” Radwanska said afterward. “I only had a week of practice, so I am just very happy to be in the third round.”
It wasn’t a good day for 12th-seeded American Madison Keys as she was eliminated by Croatia’s Petra Matric.
Matric dominated the final two sets to post a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory. Keys had her left wrist checked out after the second set and was unable to compete with the well-playing Matric in the final set.
Unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet easily swept past 20th-seed Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1.
It marked the first time Cornet defeated Strycova since 2014. Strycova pointed the blame at herself for the defeat.
“I had so many break points, and I didn’t do it. And I had so many chances and I didn’t do it,” Strycova said. “If you have so many chances and you are not able to do it and you are kind of, like, thinking about it and it’s getting worse and worse … at the end, it’s just looking like that you’re playing bad.”
Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg also pulled an upset, stunning 16th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4.
Also advancing were 14th-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina, 17th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, 21st-seeded Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain and 28th-seeded Caroline Garcia of France.
Vesnina posted a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over American Varvara Lepchenko, Sevastova dispatched Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0, Suarez-Navarro ousted Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4 and Garcia defeated countrywoman Chloe Paquet 7-5, 6-4.