Leolia’s feat on clay springs a huge surprise
LITTLE-KNOWN Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean caused a sensation at Roland Garros by knocking out eighth seed Karolina Pliskova.
The 26-year-old wildcard, ranked 227 in the world, beat last year’s Wimbledon runner-up 6-2 6-2.
In doing so Jeanjean became the lowest-ranked woman to win a match against a top-ten player at the French Open since Conchita Martinez beat Lori Mcneil in 1988.
It is a remarkable achievement for a player who was a talented junior but who gave up tennis for almost five
years after suffering a serious knee injury.
“I don’t really know what to say actually because what’s happening right now, it’s really something I never imagine before,” Jeanjean said.
“You know, when I stopped playing for four, five years, I never told myself I’d be in the third round of a grand slam.”
Jeanjean will play Irinacamelia Begu, who beat 30th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, in the third round.
Begu was perhaps fortunate to escape with just a warning after bouncing her racquet on the floor in frustration and watching it spin up into the crowd, apparently leaving a child in tears.
She said: “Well, it’s an embarrassing moment for me, so I don’t want to talk too much about it. I just want to apologise.
“In my whole career I didn’t do something like this, and I feel really bad and sorry. ”
Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, bowed out 2-6 6-2 6-1 against China’s Qinwen Zheng.
The Romanian is another obstacle out of the path of world number one Iga Swiatek, who took her winning streak to 30 matches by dismantling Alison Riske 6-0 6-2.