Serena Puts On Pereira Masterclass
World No.1 Serena Williams needed little more than an hour and dropped just three games on her way to a near-flawless victory over Teliana Pereira to move into the third round of Roland Garros.
World No.1 Serena Williams needed little more than an hour and dropped just three games on her way to a near-flawless victory over Teliana Pereira to move into the third round of Roland Garros.
No.14 seed Ana Ivanovic eased into the third round of the French Open on Thursday with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Kurumi Nara.
PARIS, France – Timea Bacsinszky produced a stunning turnaround to defeat Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 6-4, and book her place in the third round of the French Open.
Trailing Bouchard 4-1 in the opening set, an upset looked on the cards. However, a run of 10 straight games from the No.8 seed turned the match on its head, before a late wobble gave the scoreline a more respectable sheen.
The only other time Bacsinszky faced Bouchard came earlier this year in Indian Wells, where she was taken to three sets. And on Philippe Chatrier, Bouchard provided a reminder of the talent that saw her ranked No.5 not so long ago, barely making a mistake in the opening five games.
It was a standard that proved difficult to maintain, and when her level dropped Bacsinszky was there to pounce. At 4-4, the Swiss finally hit the front, finishing a well-worked point with an angled backhand winner.
In the next game, she showcased her creative side, a delicate drop shot helping her to set point, before a shellshocked Bouchard netted a backhand to complete the comeback.
Brimming with confidence, Bacsinszky raced through the opening five games of the second set, conjuring up winners from all over the court. To her credit, 2014 semifinalist Bouchard battled away to the bitter end, a relieved Bacsinszky eventually making her way across the line and into a third-round meeting against either Pauline Parmentier or Irina Falconi.
For Bouchard, the disappointment of an early exit was tempered by her performance against one of the WTA’s form players. “I felt like I put myself in a good position in preparation and everything,” she said. “I’ve done everything that I possibly could to be ready. I started out strong. The game plan was working and things like that.
“I think that my focus a little bit was the part that let me down, the mental part. Something I’ve been working on. I had been getting better, so it’s not always going to be good.”
Three-time Roland Garros champion Serena Williams leads the top half of the draw into the second round on Thursday in Paris. We preview all the action here at WTATennis.com.
Thursday, Second Round
[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Teliana Pereira (BRA #81)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Serena Williams improved to 62-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams with her win on Tuesday.
Serena Williams’ potential road to the Roland Garros title got easier on paper when No.5 seed Victoria Azarenka, her rival and potential quarterfinal opponent, was knocked out of the draw on Day 3 by Karin Knapp of Italy. But the 21-time major champion was more concerned about working her way through the draw than monitoring other results on Tuesday. “In order to get the warm weather you have to last to the second week,” Williams joked after her 42-minute victory over Magdalena Rybarikova on a chilly afternoon in Paris. On Thursday the American will bid for her 56th career Roland Garros win against a very talented clay-courter in Brazil’s Teliana Pereira. The 27-year-old world No.81 has amassed 16 wins and two titles on clay over the last two years, but she’s gone 0-4 in that span against players in the Top 25. She’ll face the challenge of a lifetime when she faces the game’s greatest player on the world’s biggest showcourt. How will she respond?
Pick: Williams in two
[26] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #30) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #45)
Head-to-head: Mladenovic leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Mladenovic and Babos won three doubles titles together in 2015 and qualified for the WTA Finals.
A pair great friends and former doubles partners will duke it out in a no-holds-barred battle for supremacy on the singles court on Thursday. 23-year-old Timea Babos is blossoming as a singles player in 2016, winning 21 matches to best her previous career high by nine, and reaching semifinals in Shenzhen and Rabat. Mladenovic has struggled to live up to expectations at times this season, but the Frenchwoman has demonstrated the ability to put bad patches behind her at Grand Slams in the recent past. She has been to at least the third round at the last four majors, a feat that Babos has never accomplished in her own budding career. Can rising Babos pull an upset and knock off her good friend on her home soil on Thursday? Or will it be big-match Mladenovic who seizes the energy of the moment to prevail?
Pick: Mladenovic in three
[8] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #9) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #47)
Head-to-head: Bascinszky leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bacsinszky is 11-2 on clay this season and has not lost to a player ranked outside the Top-10 on the surface.
Eugenie Bouchard snapped a long losing streak against the WTA’s elite in Rome when she knocked off Angelique Kerber to register her first Top 10 win on clay since the 2014 French Open. Will Bouchard’s renaissance continue in Paris against red-hot Bacsinszky on Day 5? Already having registered seven more wins in 2016 than she did in all of last season, the 22-year-old Canadian believes she is on the right track. “I feel like it’s kind of my first year on tour again,” Bouchard said on Tuesday after defeating Germany’s Laura Siegemund in straight sets. “I try to see it as a positive thing, like I’m going to try to prove to myself how well I can play and prove that I do belong at the top. Nobody’s going to hand it to you.” Bacsinszky, a semifinalist in Paris last year, will look to wear Bouchard down like she did when the pair met for the first time at Indian Wells this spring. Her world-class defense, variety on the clay and fighter’s mentality should give her chances to repeat that result.
Pick: Bacsinszky in three
[29] Daria Kasatkina (RUS #32) vs. Virginie Razzano (FRA #184)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Razzano is the lowest-ranked player left in the draw.
Opportunity knocks in a tiny section of the top half of the draw, where not a single seeded player stands between rising Russian Daria Kasatkina and her first round of 16 appearance at a major. 19-year-old Kasatkina has turned heads all season with her athleticism, maturity and court sense, now maybe it’s time for her to turn the corner at a Grand Slam? Standing in her way on Thursday her will be a heart-and-soul veteran that is the only player in history to have ever defeated Serena Williams in the first-round of a major. Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano accomplished that tremendous feat right here in Paris in 2012. In her 18th appearance at the French Open, does the 33-year-old have more magic to summon?
Pick: Kasatkina in three
Around the Grounds: Other than defending champion Serena Williams,14th-seeded Ana Ivanovic is the highest-seeded player remaining in top quarter of the draw. She’ll meet Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the day’s first match on Court 1. No.9 seed Venus Williams will bid to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time since 2010 when she meets American qualifier Louisa Chirico on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
By The Numbers
3 – Number of former Grand Slam champions in action on Day 5 (Serena and Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic).
70 – Venus Williams is playing in her 70th Grand Slam draw at Roland Garros, most among active players and second only to Amy Frazier’s 71 all-time.
5 – Number of former Roland Garros Girls’ Singles champions in action today (Mladenovic, Razzano, Cornet, Svitolina and Kasatkina).
-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor
PARIS, France – World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska fought off Caroline Garcia and a voracious French crowd to advance into the third round of the French Open, 6-2, 6-4.
“I think I play really good two matches. Especially this one. I think this was really a tough one,” Radwanska said in her post-match press conference.
“I’m just very pleased that I could close that match in two sets, that’s for sure.”
All three of Radwanska’s previous encounters with Garcia had gone the distance, but the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion recovered from an early break to race out to a set and 4-1 lead before Garcia began sinking her teeth into the match.
Breaking serve twice to get within a game of leveling the set, Garcia threw in back-to-back double faults to throw a lifeline to Radwanska, who gladly took it to advance in 95 minutes.
“I’m very sorry,” a despondent Garcia said after the match. “I’m very sorry that I couldn’t really play the way I wish I would have played. I was able to play a few balls, but most of the match I just wasn’t there. Not enough. I wasn’t able to hit the ball. I wanted to hit it, and, well, just not the right game.
“I’m disappointed. I can play better. But it was a wonderful moment. It was very emotional. The public supporting me helped me coming back in the match when I thought it was over.
“I think they believed more in me than I believed in myself.”
Love watching Aga play even tho she says she doesn't like clay she sure can weave a web round her opponents still. Good fight back by Garcia
— Jo Durie (@Jodurie) May 25, 2016
Up next for the No.2 seed is No.30 seed Barbora Strycova. The Czech veteran is in the midst of a career year, having already reached the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Despite losing her last nine main draw matches at Roland Garros – dating back to 2004 – Strycova edged out clay court specialist Polona Hercog 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round on the terre battue for the first time in her career.
Radwanska has yet to drop a set against Strycova, though all four of their matches were on hardcourts, and the last was a little under two years ago at the Rogers Cup.
“I think I’m not really thinking about expectations or second week,” Radwanska said when asked about looking ahead to her next match. “I think taking match by match, and I’m just very happy to be in the third round.
“Of course now it’s not going to be easier. She’s playing great tennis, especially on clay. For sure another tough match.
“I’m healthy, in one piece, and I’m just ready for the next one.”
Aga Radwanska éteint les espoirs de Caroline Garcia dans ce Roland Garros ?. Elle bat la française 6-2 6-4 #RG16 pic.twitter.com/5qINfW0Ua0
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2016
Irina-Camelia Begu survives an epic: The Romanian, seeded No.25 in Paris, held off a barrage of power from CoCo Vandeweghe to win 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 10-8 in 3 hours and 38 minutes, the longest WTA match of the season so far. Vandeweghe served for the match at 5-4 in the third but Begu broke back and eventually worked her way to the win. It will be a tough loss for the American to swallow. Begu plays Annika Beck for a spot in the Round of 16.
Read more about Begu’s journey back from injury and how professional tennis runs in her family here.
Victoria Azarenka’s frustrating clay season: The World No.5 had all the momentum in the world heading into the clay season, but her mind and body just would not cooperate. On Tuesday, Azarenka retired down 4-0 in the final set to Italy’s Karin Knapp, a player who is well familiar with physical fragility herself.
After losing just one match on hard courts in the first three months of the season and winning three titles – including the first two Premier Mandatory events of the year at Indian Wells and Miami – Azarenka’s clay season was one to forget. She won just two tour matches on red clay and failed to notch a win over anyone ranked inside the Top 40. The back injury she sustained at the Mutua Madrid Open seemed to have healed up in Paris, but against Knapp she appeared to suffer a right knee injury that eventually led to her retirement.
Azarenka did not speak to reporters after the match.
Francesca Schiavone clarifies retirement rumors: No, Francesca ain’t done yet. Schiavone received a hero’s ovation after losing in straight sets to Kristina Mladenovic in the first round, but clarified after the match that, despite an announcement by Roland Garros, she had not retired.
“You can stand up all of you & go back to work b/c I didn’t say that. I will announce when I want to stop.” pic.twitter.com/G0ppQpTxC9
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 24, 2016
Roland Garros, always a pleasure. See you all in @Wimbledon.
— Francesca Schiavone (@Schiavone_Fra) May 24, 2016
Timea Bacsinszky’s tasty tales: What is it like to cover the first week of a Slam? It involves a lot of stairs, battery checks on your recorders, and cold sandwiches, often eaten at your desk as you monitor results. So this was a particularly painful read:
Reads @TimeaOfficial’s press conference, looks at sad desk sandwich, cries. #RG16 pic.twitter.com/blw6sZxIvh
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 24, 2016
Kristina Mladenovic mixes it up: Mladenovic confirmed to reporters that she will play mixed doubles with Pierre Hugues Herbert at the Olympics.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova bouce back: After getting pushed to three sets in the first round against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, the No.4 seed rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win over French wildcard Myrtille Georges. Kvitova was two points away from a first round exit as well against Danka Kovinic. She rolled past Hsieh Su-Wei 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday to move through to the third round.
Shhhhh…Agnieszka Radwanska looking comfortable: The No.2 seed has not dropped a set through two rounds, with wins over Bojana Jovanovski and a tough Caroline Garcia. “I’m healthy, in one piece, and I’m just ready for the next one,” Radwanska said afterwards.
Read why I tentatively picked Radwanska as a darkhorse for a deep run. Pressure and expectation free, this might be the year she puts it together on clay. Or not. We’ll see.
Can Samantha Stosur snap her Safarova streak?: Stosur is into the third round and will face a familiar foe in last year’s Roland Garros finalist Lucie Safarova. The Czech is 11-3 against Stosur. It’s Stosur’s worst head-to-head record behind her 15-2 mark against Maria Sharapova.
Naomi Osaka streaks through a Slam once again: The 18-year-old is into the third round of her Roland Garros debut, this time beating an in-form Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 6-3 to set up a big test against No.6 seed Simona Halep.
Here’s a fun exchange between Osaka and a reporter about her desire to play Serena Williams.
Q. Speaking of Serena, you always wanted to play her. In Australia you looked a little bit disappointed to find out that you don’t have an opportunity to play against Serena until like a semifinals or something. I was wondering this year when the draw came out, did you watch where Serena is and did you find that opportunity to play against Serena?
NAOMI OSAKA: Well, she’s all the way on the other side of the draw. Like she’s always at the very top. Then I saw my name wasn’t there, and I was like, ah. I got over it kind of quickly. Was that it?
Q. What was your reaction when you found that you don’t have an opportunity to play her until the final?
NAOMI OSAKA: Disappointment? But then I’m like, okay, so maybe I have a chance to win my rounds then.
Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova are out…of singles: The doubles partners took surprising second round losses on Wednesday, with Vesnina bowing out to Shelby Rogers and No.27 seed Makarova losing to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets.
The pressure of playing at home: Caroline Garcia will walk away from the clay season with a big win on home soil. It just won’t be here in Paris. The Strasbourg champion couldn’t find her best when it mattered against the crafty Radwanska, but the atmosphere and the effort she put in was very positive.
“I enjoyed the court,” Garcia said. “I enjoyed Lenglen. I enjoyed the public. I’m disappointed. I can play better. But it was a wonderful moment. It was very emotional. The public supporting me helped me coming back in the match when I thought it was over.
“I think they believed more in me than I believed in myself.”
Day 5 Matches to Watch: Timea Bacsinszky vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Venus Williams vs. Louisa Chirico, Madison Keys vs. Mariana Duque-Mariño, Camila Giorgi vs. Kiki Bertens, Andrea Petkovic vs. Yulia Putintseva, Kristina Mladenovic vs. Timea Babos.
Olympic teams shape up: A quick look at the Olympic race:
– Germany: With Annika Beck’s run to the third round, the top four Germans on the Monday after the French Open will be Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Laura Siegemund, and Beck. That’s not to say that’s the confirmed team: all players are still subject to Federation and Fed Cup requirements.
– Russia: The Vesnina and Makarova’s losses mean the Russian Olympic team is nearly set, with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Daria Kasatkina the top four singles players. If Sharapova is unable to play in Rio, that fourth spot will go to Makarova.
– United States: CoCo Vandeweghe needed to make the final to overtake Sloane Stephens or Madison Keys for the fourth Olympic spot. While Louisa Chirico is still mathematically in the hunt, it’s looking like the US will send Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Madison Keys, and Sloane Stephens in singles.
– Three bubble players to watch: Even one more win could mean the difference between Rio and summer vacation for Alizé Cornet, Zhang Shuai, and Wang Qiang.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
PARIS, France – Cagla Buyukakcay and Ipek Soylu made tennis history earlier this week, when they became the first two Turkish women in the Open Era to qualify for the singles main draw at a Slam. Both women accomplished the feat via qualies, with No.83 Buyukakcay, 26, becoming the first woman through and 2014 US Open girls doubles champion Soylu following suit hours later.
The celebration did not end there. With a 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Buyukakcay followed up her qualies run to become the first Turkish woman to win a main draw match at a major. This success, not just for Buyukakcay but also for Turkish tennis, has been a long-time in the making.
“I was working so hard for so many years,” Buyukakcay told WTA Insider. “I was playing qualies for over five years actually.”
Back home in Turkey, Ipek Senoglu is beaming. The retired Turkish trailblazer was the first woman from her country to play qualifying at a Slam and was the first to play in the main draw of a Slam in doubles.
“It’s weird because I’m having these emotions right now that no one else in Turkey has,” Senoglu told WTA Insider via phone from Istanbul. “Because I had worked so hard to open the roads, to open this dream, and it would be like a waste of my career if someone didn’t take the flag and didn’t carry it further. And now they have actually over-passed my success. I mean, it’s a different level now; it’s in singles. So I’m really proud!”
Turkey has long been fertile ground for WTA tournaments. The TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup has been a staple on the tour since 2005, and the WTA Finals had a fantastic run of three consecutive years in Istanbul from 2011-2013.
But its players had yet to make a major impact a the upper echelons of the game. Buyukakcay, who played Fed Cup with Senoglu for years, seems to have picked up the torch. Last month she became the first Turkish woman to win a WTA singles title – on home soil nonetheless – at the Istanbul Cup. That win moved her into the Top 100 for the first time and guaranteed her a main draw slot at Wimbledon. Now with a junior Slam champion behind her, the legacy of Turkish tennis is coming together.
Both Senoglu and Buyukakcay cite the constant presence of top WTA events in Istanbul as a major inspiration. It brought the heady dreams of becoming a top-level professional back down to earth, something that was actually attainable.
“The [WTA Finals] allowed both Cagla, Ipek and anyone who is playing in the women’s tour to understand that these players are human. They have two arms, two legs – nothing they can’t have.
“I was always trying to say: ‘Hey, you can do it. Look, I made it in doubles because I didn’t have many options. I didn’t have many chances to do this, I didn’t have a coach for many of my career years, I didn’t have a sponsor for most of that time, but for me to do this it was a dream. So I was able to reach my dreams, to be the first woman to play all the Grand Slams from Turkey.”
“But it’s one thing to hear it and something else to see them live. Because when you see them live, they are hitting the same ball, they’re on the same court, same shoes – same thing, you know? It’s just about working hard, it’s just about doing it for a long time, working hard each day. And they saw that through the [WTA Finals]. I think it was a wonderful super step for them.
“And that’s great because not only they have seen it, our media has seen it, our parents have seen it, that they both can do it. It’s wonderful. I think we are getting the fruit of those [WTA Finals] right now. I think it was very very crucial.”
Buyukakcay agreed. “We didn’t have any examples in the Top 100,” she said. “Maybe the idea was too big in our minds before. Ipek had the tougher time than me because she’s older than me. When I saw [the top players in Turkey] I realized that we can do that, that we have the inspiration inside.”
Senoglu paved her way on tour by going to the United States for college, where she played collegiate tennis at Pepperdine University. Buyukakcay chose to develop her career in Turkey, in hopes of sending a message to future generations. In conversation it’s clear how much Buyukakcay wants to inspire more young Turkish women to pick up a racquet and play with ambition.
“I told myself, ‘No, I want to stay, I want to improve my tennis in Turkey,'” Cagla Buyukakcay said. “I will try my best. I didn’t have an idol in front of me. It was tough. I didn’t know how to be a professional. This was my motivation, but the idea came from my love of tennis.
“I grew up in Turkey, I work with the Turkish coaches. If you really want to improve yourself, I want to prove that we can do that. We are also humans. I have that faith inside. For the younger generation, it’s important for me that they will be believe for themselves that they can work without any excuses, because if you need excuses we can find a lot of things.
“I am 100% sure I will help the younger generation because when I started as a professional no one qualified for the Grand Slams. It was too big in our minds. If I play in the second round here I’m sure the younger ones will say, ‘Yes, Cagla did it. We can do it.’ I think it’s important to have some people from our culture, from our blood, to do it.
“My footballer friend Arda Turan, he’s playing for Barcelona now. This was a dream for us to have a Turkish footballer playing for Barcelona. He made it. He inspired me. He’s a big star in Turkey now. I’m telling myself also now if I work hard if I still want to stay in the positive side and be passionate to improve myself, there’s no reason not to do it.”
For Buyukakcay, winning the Istanbul Cup, breaking into the Top 100, playing in the main draw at a Slam: the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. But she’s careful to remind the public that it will not always be like this. Anyone familiar with tennis knows the ups and downs can give you whiplash and Buyukakcay wants Turkish fans to be in it for the long haul, not just because the emotions are high right now.
“Maybe it’s because it’s our culture and we get excited so quickly, we want the success too soon,” Buyukakcay said. “I’m doing good but it doesn’t mean I will do good all the time. This idea for them is tough. It’s new. This way we will give them knowledge about sport and how it is. Football is very popular of course, they know everything about football. But individual sports, they are starting to learn. But there is no reason our people will not succeed.”
Cagla Buyukakcay’s Parisian romp ended on Wednesday in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 loss to No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round. Next month she will hit another milestone, as the first Turkish woman to earn direct entry into a Slam and the first Turkish woman to play a main draw singles match at Wimbledon.
In the meantime, she will be waiting anxiously by her phone to hear if she will be the first Turkish woman to represent her country in tennis at the Olympics. Her ranking is unlikely to earn her direct entry but the ITF could grant her a special entry spot usually reserved for players from underrepresented regions around the world.
“Turkish people are fanatics,” Senoglu said, laughing. “That’s why right now, when Cagla won the Istanbul Cup in Turkey she became from a regular player only tennis fans know, to a celebrity in one night. That’s wonderful for Turkish tennis, that’s wonderful for Turkish athletes and wonderful for Turkish supporters in general. Now, not only Turkish tennis fans know Cagla, now regular people in Turkey know her as well. And what that’s going to increase sponsorship, that’s going to increase tournaments, it’s going to increase everything in Turkish tennis. That’s wonderful.
“I hope Cagla will make it to Olympics, because that’s the next step. And I think at this point she does deserve it. Whether it will be as direct acceptance or as a wildcard, I don’t care, but I do think it will be a wonderful thing for this region if she can make it to Olympics.”
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
PARIS, France – Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza are just five matches away from a Non-Calendar Year “Santina” Slam, and the top seeds opened with a statement first round win at the French Open, defeating Daria Kasatkina and Alexandra Panova, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Kasatkina was one half of the team who ended Santina’s 41-match winning streak at the Qatar Total Open, edging past the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions alongside Elena Vesnina in a match tie-break, but fresh off of their first career red clay court title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Hingis and Mirza were all business to start, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set.
The Russians clawed their way back to level and saved two set points in the 12th game to force a tie-break. On serve through the first six points, Santina broke away from there, winning four of the last five points to all but extinguish any hope of an upset.
Clinching victory in just over 90 minutes, Hingis and Mirza booked a second round meeting with either Karin Knapp and Mandy Minella, or Japanese duo Nao Hibino and Eri Hozumi.
A 35 ans Martina Hingis se fait plaisir sur le court associée en double à Samia Mirza ?? #RG16 pic.twitter.com/eTGyM1gBfI
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2016
Later in the day, unseeded but looming 13-time Grand Slam champions Venus and Serena Williams played their second doubles match of the season, turning around a disappointing defeat in Rome to dispatch Jelena Ostapenko and Yulia Putintseva, 6-2, 6-2.
The last team to capture a Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam at the 2010 French Open, the Williamses were down an early break to start, but came through several tense games to ease past the fiery youngsters in just under 90 minutes. Drawn into the same section of the draw as No.2 seeds and defending champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, the pair next play either No.14 seeds Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu, or Vitalia Diatchenko and Galina Voskoboeva.
American Madison Brengle and Tatjana Maria earned the biggest upset thus far when they took out Spanish pair and No.13 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-2, 6-3. No.4 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova avoided a similar fate at the hands of sister act Anastasia and Arina Rodionova, recovering from a set down to win, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. No.9 seeds and Australian Open semifinalists Xu Yu-Fan and Zheng Saisai continued their solid season with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Han Xinyun and Varvara Lepchenko, while No.10 seeds Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova overcame an experienced team in Anna-Lena Groenefeld and former doubles No.1 Kveta Peschke, 6-4, 6-1.
Les sœurs Williams, sur le court numéro 2, remportent le premier set de leur premier tour de double, 6-2. #RG16 pic.twitter.com/lgyNEZuLhX
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2016
On Thursday, defending French Open doubles champions Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands take the court to start their bid for a third Grand Slam title as a duo. Standing in their way? None other than the World No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis – who are just five wins away from a ‘SanTina Slam’ – and a stacked draw filled with dangerous teams.
Ahead of their doubles opener, the pair sat down with CNN Open Court to discuss the origins of “Team Bucie,” their on-court chemistry, and Safarova’s return from a career-threatening illness.
18-year-old Naomi Osaka backed up her impressive run at the Australian Open by reaching the third round of the French Open in her debut, where she’ll meet World No.6 Simona Halep.