Tennis News

After working her way into the second round of the French Open this season, Simona Halep will be put to the test when she encounter the player who ousted her from the US Open tournament last season. It was one of the bigger upsets at the US Open in 2014 and will be interesting to see if Halep will be able to avenge that loss this year in Paris. This is the second time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Lucic-Baroni leading the head-to-head series 1-0 due to that fateful encounter.

Seeded third at this year’s tournament, Simona Halep secured her spot in the second round of the tournament with a straight sets win against Evgeniya Rodina. She won the match 7-5, 6-4 to secure her 30th match win of the season.

“It wasn’t easy walking on Chatrier again, but I enjoyed it a lot,” Halep said. “I just tried to be focused for what I had to do on the court today, and just played my game. Many people came to watch, and that made a really nice atmosphere. It was just a great day for me and I really want to enjoy it.”

Halep will next face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat Lauren Davis in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Court 17 on Sunday.

This marks the second time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and is a contest that should favour the No. 3 seed. However, given that Lucic-Baroni leads the head-o-head series 1-0 with a win against Halep at the US Open, it could prove to be a more interesting match. Yet considering her strong performance in the opening round, Halep should manage her way through this encounter on clay.

Following an impressive start to his 2015 French Open campaign, Stan Wawrinka will move on to the second round of the prestigious Grand Slam event on Wednesday afternoon. The Swiss No. 2 will come up against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, whom he has only faced once previously on the professional tour. Wawrinka leads the head-to-head series 1-0 with a victory last season at the Davis Cup.

In his opening match on court on Sunday, Stan Wawrinka opened up his campaign for a second Grand Slam title with a straight sets win against Marsel Ilhan. Seeeded eighth at this year’s event, Wawrinka struck 42 winners and saved all six of the break points he faced during the match to close out the contest 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in 96 minutes.

“It was a great start, a good match, [I’m] feeling the ball well,” said Wawrinka. “I had only one hour of practice here in Paris, so I’m really happy to play that way already. My game is there. I’m feeling great on the clay since few weeks now. ‘[I] got the confidence back and [I’m] playing well. So I’m happy to get through in three sets.”

Wawrinka will come up against Dusan Lajovic in the second round of the tournament. The Serb defeated Maximo Gonzalez in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and is well on his way to reaching the fourth round of the French Open like he did last season for the first time in his career.

This marks the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Wawrinka leading the head-to-head series 1-0. That sole victory took place during the Davis Cup last season, which Switzerland won en route to claiming the title later on that year. While Lajovic is comfortable on this surface and has a good track record here, Wawrinka should have little trouble getting himself into the third round of the tournament.

Back in 2014, Petra Kvitova and Marina Erakovic met in the second round of the French Open to determine who would advance to the following stage of the prestigious tournament. This year, they will once again cross paths at the second Grand Slam event of the season. However, the contest will instead be in the opening round of the tournament and will mark their fifth overall meeting on the tour. Kvitova leads the head-to-head series with an unblemished 4-0 record that includes two clay court wins.

Following a weak start to her clay court season with an opening round loss in Stuttgart to Madison Brengle, Petra Kvitova rebounded with a title win in Madrid, that included a victory over Serena Williams – the world No. 1’s first loss since 2014. She then followed up with a quarter-final finish in Rome, where she lost to eventual runner-up Carla Suarez Navarro. She will now look to return to Paris, where she will cross paths with a familiar face.

“Yes, as I saw the draw it came to my mind I played her last year in the second round. It was not for the first time we played. In Cincinnati I think before. I know how she can be dangerous. I think she’s playing a little bit different style, which is a lot of slice and dropshots and really big forehand and great serve, actually. So of course first round it’s always very tricky. I have to be ready for everything and, you know, see what’s going to happen. Every shot is going to be different. That’s probably what I know now.”

Marina Erakovic compiled a 0-3 record on clay this season that included opening round losses in Charleston and Marrakech. She managed to qualify for Madrid but also lost in the opening round of that tournament. Most recently, she failed to qualify for Rome.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Kvitova leading the head-to-head series 4-0. Given that her clay court wins over Erakovic were straightforward, there is little doubt that this will be another convincing win for Kvitova.