Following an opening round scare on Tuesday afternoon in Paris, Petra Kvitova is through to the second round of the tournament relatively unscathed, where she will next come up against Silvia Soler-Espinosa. This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and will step out on court for their match on Thursday afternoon.

Against Marina Erakovic in her opening round match, Petra Kvitova was forced to contest three sets and was certainly struggling to get across the finish line in the final set before she secured the pivotal break. After nearly two-and-a-half hours on court, Kvitova managed to secure the win against Erakovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

“I think she didn’t miss so much, and there were a lot of good rallies. It was really difficult,” Kvitova said. “She’s a really smart player with a good touch, so I knew it was going to be difficult.

“I played her last time here, as well, and it was two sets. But, anyway, every match is different. I’m just glad that I won.”

“I have to say the conditions weren’t really easy for me. I think it was quite cold and the balls are really heavy, and they didn’t really fly,” she added. “For me it was really difficult to go for the shots. It was tough to make any winners or ace from the serve or something like that.”

Kvitova will come up against Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who only needed straight sets to defeat Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-3. It was a straightforward performance and sets up an intriguing second round contest.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour. While Kvitova had a difficult start to her 2015 campaign at the French Open, she should have less trouble in the second round.