Paris: Four-time former winner Iga Swiatek moved into the women's singles third round at the French Open on Wednesday. with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sara Bejlek in a match in which she held the upper hand throughout.
Swiatek overcame an uneven serving performance and 38 unforced errors to beat Bejlek and move to the third round, setting up a possible meeting against Jelena Ostapenko.
In their second round clash, the first set alone lasted 46 minutes. The No. 3-seeded Swiatek was broken twice. The former World No.1, who won the French Open in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, landed just 37 percent of her first serves.
In the second set, the opening game dragged close to 10 minutes by itself, and by the time Swiatek finally held for 1-0, the pair had already crossed the one-hour mark.
In the end, though, Swiatek still found more than enough answers. It was hardly spotless -- she finished with 38 unforced errors against 17 winners -- but she also broke the No. 35-ranked Bejlek seven times and won eight of 11 points at the net in the 1-hour, 31-minute victory.
Meanwhile Australia's Kimberly Birrell produced the biggest shock of the opening week at the French Open, rallying from a set down to knock out fifth seed Jessica Pegula in a dramatic first-round clash. The World No. 83 came from behind to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, marking the biggest victory of her career and causing Pegula's earliest Grand Slam exit in five years. It was also Birrell’s first win at Roland Garros and her debut main-draw victory at a major outside her home Slam in Melbourne.
Pegula looked firmly in control early, racing through the opening set in under 30 minutes and stretching her lead to a set and a break after winning eight of the first 10 games. But Birrell gradually settled into the contest, raising her intensity from the baseline and capitalising on crucial moments despite winning fewer total points in the match than the American.
While Pegula’s campaign ended in disappointment, fellow American Madison Keys enjoyed a far smoother passage into the second round. The 19th seed overcame Belgian debutant Hanne Vandewinkel 6-3, 6-0, recovering from a shaky opening phase to dominate the remainder of the contest. Elsewhere, rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko made an emphatic start to her Paris campaign, defeating Czech youngster Nikola Bartunkova 6-1, 6-2 in just 69 minutes. (IANS).
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