It was a rocky start to the French Open for Ana Ivanovic. The 2008 champion dropped her opening set at the 2015 edition of the Grand Slam event but managed to regroup to secure her spot in the following round. She will next encounter Misaki Doi to determine who will advance to the third round at Roland Garros. This will mark the first time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional circuit.

Faced with the task of ousting Yaroslava Shvedova in her first match at the prestigious Grand Slam event, Ivanovic needed more than a set to find her footing. After dropping the opener, Ivanovic woke up, regrouped and began hitting winners with her forehand across the court for the following two sets to secure the 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win.

“It was a little bit of a tough start,” Ivanovic said. “I didn’t have that many matches coming into this tournament, so I was really happy that in the second set I managed to sort of play a little bit deeper and put a little bit more pressure on her. In the third set I felt like, ‘Okay, I’m playing my game now.’ “I worked really hard last week. I was really trying to rely on that. I knew I’d put the work I had to put in, so that gave me confidence. Even after the first set I really tried to look for my game.

Article Continues Below Ad

“I was really happy I was able to turn it around today.”

In a far more straightforward affair on Sunday afternoon, Misaki Doi reached the second round of the tournament on cruise control, as she defeated Cetkovska in straight sets to advance to the following stage of the event. She struck 2 aces, 17 winners and converted four break points on serve to close out the match 6-3, 6-2.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional circuit. Ivanovic is the more experienced competitor, while Doi is ranked outside of the Top 100. Now that the Serb has gotten over her first stumble in Paris, she should have little trouble advancing to the third round.