By Chris Oddo | Thursday Jne 1, 2017
Daria Kasatkina and Simona Halep set an enticing third-round clash on Day 5 as both marched on in straight sets.
Photo Source: Adam Pretty/Getty
Russia’s Daria Kasatkina and the red clay of Roland Garros are a good match. The 20-year-old, a former Roland Garros junior champion, reached the third round for a second consecutive year on Thursday in Paris with a 7-6(1), 6-4 win over 17-year-old Marketa Vondrousova.
Kasatkina, who turned her ankle in Rome two weeks ago and was forced to retire from her first-round match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia against Barbora Strycova, raced against the clock to get fit for Paris despite the fact that her doctors didn’t think she’d make it.
She’s here now, and the Russian snapped a three-match losing streak today to set up a third-round clash with No.3-seeded Simona Halep.
Halep, who also carried an ankle injury that she suffered in the Rome final two weeks ago, moved into the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Tatjana Maria. Halep has been tabbed as the oddsmaker’s favorite in Paris, but Kasatkina should provide a stern test for the Romanian when they meet on Saturday for the first time.
Kasatkina converted all five of her break points and hit 16 winners and 16 unforced errors to complete her victory in one hour and 21 minutes.
Halep broke five times on ten opportunities to defeat Maria in one hour and 22 minutes.
Speaking of ankle injuries, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard ran out of gas on Day 5 and was bounced by No.17-seeded Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-0. The Canadian pulled out of her last event with an ankle injury and was questionable for Roland Garros. But she got herself fit and reached the second round on Tuesday with a win over Japan’s Risa Ozaki.
27-year-old Sevastova improves to 2-1 lifetime against Bouchard and has reached the third round at Roland Garros for the first time. She’ll face either Petra Martic or Madison Keys next.