Simona Halep produced her best tennis when she needed it most to see off a stern challenge from Alja Tomljanovic and win 6-2 3-6 6-0 in the first round of the French Open.
The Romanian, 27, won her first Grand Slam title on the Paris clay last year and she would dearly love to repeat that triumph in 2019.
Considering some of the sparkling play she demonstrated on Court Philippe Chatrier today, she has an excellent chance of doing exactly that.
Halep got going quickly in the match and raced into a 3-0 lead. Tomljanovic then settled and gained a foothold in the set, but it was not enough. The World No.3 closed it out 6-2.
At that stage, it looked like the clash might soon be over. But the Australian was undaunted by the challenge ahead of her, and she produced some excellent tennis of her own to establish a 3-1 lead in the second set.
Buoyed by this, Tomljanovic began to dictate by finding some great angles with her powerful groundstrokes. This enabled her to increase her advantage to 5-2. Although Halep then got one of the breaks back, the World No.47 broke her again to take the set 6-3.
Nothing could have prepared the Australian for what happened next. The 2018 champion charged around the court and took control of virtually every point in the decider.
She chased down Tomljanovic’s shots, found some ridiculous angles and unleashed a string of winners to all parts of the court.
Consequently, Halep stormed into a 5-0 lead and looked set to inflict an infamous ‘bagel’ on the Australian. However, the World No.47 fought her way to a break before the Romanian broke her again to seal her place in round two.
Sabalenka, Keys and Sakkari advance
Aryna Sabalenka made light work of a potentially difficult opponent on Court Simonne-Mathieu. She hit 31 winners as she beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5 6-1.
The Belarussian, 21, shot to prominence during a brilliant 2018, but she has struggled so far this year.
To make matters worse, Sabalenka’s next opponent will be the woman who thrashed her 6-3 6-2 at the Australian Open: Amanda Anisimova.
The American, 17, is feeling confident about her game after she won her first WTA title in Bogota last month. She blitzed wildcard Harmony Tan 6-3 6-1 in just 56 minutes to set up the clash. Can Sabalenka get revenge for her loss in Melbourne?
2018 semi-finalist Madison Keys got her Roland Garros campaign off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of Evgeniya Rodina. The Russian stunned the American at Wimbledon last year but never threatened to repeat that shock.
Maria Sakkari is enjoying a fantastic clay court swing. She won her first WTA title in Rabat and made it to her second WTA Premier 5 semi-final in Rome.
And it appears the Greek has brought that form with her to Paris. She annihilated Anna Tatishvili 6-0 6-1 in just 55 minutes to set up a clash with Katerina Siniakova, who beat Elena Rybakina 7-6(5) 6-1.
