Serbian fifth seed Jelena Jankovic beat Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-2, 6-3 to reach the second round of the women’s singles at the French Open yesterday.
Jankovic, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, will next face either Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova or Kristina Mladenovic of France for a place in the third round.
The Serb was barely bothered by a two-hour rain break at 4-1 and clinched the opening set on her opponent’s serve after 34 minutes of play.
PHOTO: EPA
World No. 85 Cetkovska stepped up a gear in the second set but the 24-year-old could not handle Jankovic’s pace in the long rallies and bowed out on the second match point when she sent a crosscourt forehand wide.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova pelted French wildcard Claire Feuerstein with topspin missiles to win 6-1, 6-4.
The Russian seventh seed, runner-up in Paris in 2006, had already broken twice to race to a 5-1 lead before rain interrupted play.
When the 23-year-old pair returned to the Suzanne Lenglen Court some two hours later, Kuznetsova quickly served out the set and broke in the third game of the second.
If Feuerstein had initially seemed daunted by the 229-place difference in their world rankings, she asserted herself more in the second set, breaking the Russian in the fourth game.
Kuznetsova, whose passing shots left her opponent often rooted to the spot, broke again the seventh and eventually sealed victory on her third matchpoint with a powerful forehand that was too good for Feuerstein.
In other early matches yesterday Petra Martic of Croatia beat Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-4, 6-2 while Hungary’s Melinda Czink defeated Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
In an all-Asian showdown Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan downed India’s Sania Mirza, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
The Moscow-born Voskoboeva, 24, changed her nationality last year.
Mirza has teamed up with Taiwan’s Chuang Chia-jung in the women’s doubles. The No. 14 seeds have been drawn against Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and Turkey’s Ipek Senoglu in the first round.
In the men’s singles Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro reached the second round yesterday with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over France’s Michael Llodra.
Del Potro will face either Serbia’s Viktor Troicki or Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot for a place in the last 32.
In another match Frenchman Marc Gicquel thrashed German No. 28 seed Rainer Schuttler 6-0, 6-0, 6-4.
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