NEW DELHI: Former champion and ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko faced a shaky start in both sets but managed to overcome Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the second round of the French Open in Paris on Sunday.
Ostapenko, who clinched her lone Grand Slam title in Paris in 2017, encountered an early setback as she lost her serve in the opening game and struggled to create break point opportunities until trailing 2-3. However, she staged a comeback after dropping the first four games, ultimately claiming the first set.
In the second set, Cristian once again broke first and held a 3-2 lead, but Ostapenko rallied back, breaking twice to go up 5-3 and within reach of victory.
Though Cristian fought back and managed to level the set at 5-5 after saving three break points, Ostapenko held her nerve, serving to love and applying pressure on Cristian. The Latvian sealed the match in style, breaking to love as Cristian double-faulted, ending her French Open debut.
(With Reuters inputs)
