Rising Asian tennis stars Alex Eala and Janice Tjen had a forgettable day at the French Open as both lost in straight sets in Round 1 on Tuesday.
Seventeenth seed Iva Jovic defeated Eala 6-4, 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with fellow American Emma Navarro.
Jovic earned her first break in the fourth game to move ahead 3-1 and then 5-1. Three double faults from Jovic in the seventh game helped Eala break back. But the Filipina could not find a way back as Jovic clinched the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Jovic held serve comfortably and broke again to complete a 6-4, 6-2 victory in one hour and 40 minutes.
It means Eala continues her hunt for a first main-draw win in Paris. In fact, she has won only one main-draw match in five Grand Slam appearances.
Jovic’s next faces countrywoman Navarro, who defeated Indonesia’s Tjen 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.
It has been a rather challenging year for Tjen after the 'Desert Swing'. She has endured first-round defeats in Madrid, Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston and Rome.
Meanwhile, world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka eased through her opening round at the French Open as she brushed aside Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2.
Sabalenka raced to a 4-0 lead before unforced errors crept into her game, which allowed her opponent to pull two breaks back and serve for 5-5.
A double fault, however, handed the top-seeded Belarusian the first set and she opened up a 5-0 advantage in the second.
Bouzas Maneiro survived another couple of games but a double fault gave Sabalenka victory.
“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game that I can come to the net to play points there, it’s so much fun,” last year’s runner-up Sabalenka said.
“I’m so happy I was able to improve on that part of the game and bring it on court.”
Medvedev stalls at start again
In the men's draw, Daniil Medvedev fell to a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 loss to Australian wildcard Adam Walton.
The former world No 1 had fallen at the first hurdle in six of his previous nine appearances at the clay-court event.
Medvedev dropped serve and then allowed Walton to build a 4-2 lead in the opening set which the latter then clinched.
The Russian regained his rhythm to wrest control by claiming the next set for the loss of only one game, but the sixth seed could not maintain his grip and let the third set slip away.
World number 97 Walton, who was seeking a first win over a top-10 player, lost the fourth set but fought on bravely in the decider to break back at 4-4, before completing a famous victory.
“It's huge,” Walton said after the win. “I knew I could do it and I believed, so I'm happy with my performance. I'm really excited right now.
“It was such an up-and-down match. I got off to a hot start, and I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. I'm just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set, to come from a break down to get the win.”
