Bouchard gets first-round scare
Canadian overcomes poor start in opening test to advance at Roland Garros
PARIS — Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard is through to the second round of the French Open after posting a comeback 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Risa Ozaki on Tuesday.
Bouchard, a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2014, came back from a disastrous first set by dominating the next two. The native of Westmount, Que., was particularly strong in the third when she fired three aces, broke Ozaki on two of four attempts and held the final game to love. The Canadian had fallen into a hole after a first set in which she committed 24 unforced errors and saved just one of the four break points she faced. Bouchard next faces 17th-seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. Bouchard and Sevastova faced each other twice last year, with each player coming away with a win. Their second-round match in Paris will be their first ever meeting on clay.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Andy Murray is safely through to the second round after beating Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Murray, who was runner-up at Roland Garros last year, has been struggling in 2017 and looked uncomfortable at times during the second set.
But the world No. 1 got into his stride and saw out the final set in just 27 minutes, sealing the match with a forehand down the line after winning eight successive games.
“Last year was a great year for me, you know it was the best I ever played,” Murray said. “Here at the beginning of my career I struggled. But each year I kept coming back and was trying a little bit better and last year was really good.
“And last year during Bercy that’s when I reached No. 1 for first the time, so I’ve got very good memories from Paris last year, and I’ll try and have another good one year this year.”
No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka beat Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
“I enjoyed it very much,” said Wawrinka, who won at Roland Garros in 2015. “It was not necessarily easy after I played in Geneva until Saturday to get into gear. I’m feeling good, I’m playing good tennis and I’m happy to be back in Paris.”
In other action: No. 3 seed Simona Halep beat Jana Cepelova of Slovakia in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 in just 67 minutes; No. 8 seed Kei Nishikori beat 21-year-old Australian Thanassi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4; Madison Keys ended a four-match losing streak by winning on clay for the first time this year, beating Ashleigh Barty 6-3, 6-2; Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan beat No. 7-seed Johanna Konta of Britain 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
In other news, the French tennis federation says Maxime Hamou’s accreditation has been revoked after he repeatedly tried to kiss a female reporter during an interview.
The 21-year-old Hamou also held the Eurosport TV journalist around her neck as she tried to move away during a live interview at Roland Garros. The French federation issued a statement criticizing Hamou’s “reprehensible behaviour with a journalist yesterday” and said its disputes commission will investigate the case “for improper conduct.”