At the mercy of Bernarda Pera's deep groundstrokes and struggling with her moves, top-ranked Ashleigh Barty gave the impression that her return to Roland Garros would be short-lived.
In ideal playing conditions on the sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier, Barty was often left stranded on the red clay by the big shots of her 70th-ranked American rival. But two years after claiming the French Open title, the top-ranked Australian fought hard enough to overcome the challenge and eventually prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-2 on Tuesday.
As Pera lost her focus and hit 19 unforced errors in the deciding set, Barty made up for her lack of mobility with clever combinations of lobs and angled shots. She played with her left thigh bandaged and received medical treatment after Pera levelled at one-set apiece.
"I just keep fighting, I just keep trying," Barty said after improving her three-set match record to 12-2 this year.
There was some social media chatter about Barty's medical time out, to which former Australian player and current commentator Rennae Stubbs responded furiously.
"Don't be ridiculous!!! There is one thing I can assure you, Ash Barty is FAR from a faker. She would NEVER disrespect an opponent in faking an injury," Stubbs wrote on Twitter.
"@ashbarty IS SOO far away from doing anything like this as gamesmanship!!!! There is no one in the game as good a sport than Ash. So take your stupid and shove it somewhere it doesn't shine. OK!"
Barty decided not to defend her title last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the buildup to the French Open, she played 13 matches on clay, winning 11. But she was forced to retire in the quarter-finals in Rome because of an injury to her right arm, raising concerns about her condition ahead of the tournament in Paris.
"It's going to be a little bit tough this week," she said. "I think over the weekend we had a bit of a flare-up through my left hip, which obviously just needed a bit of help today, needed some assistance to try and release it off as best I could."
Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge observed on Stan Sport's commentary during the second set: "She's not able to put the power through the legs."
But before Barty triumphed, Astra Sharma became the second Australian woman to win in the opening round with a strong showing over Romania's Irina Bara in Paris – both join Ajla Tomljanovic, who won yesterday.
Sharma's 7-6 6-2 victory means she could face Barty in the third round, if both are successful in the second.
The seeded players in the women's draw scheduled early in the day got off solid starts. Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina trailed 5-2 in the second set but beat wild card Oceane Babel 6-2 7-5. Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady breezed past Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round and match her best performance at the French Open.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova pulled out of the tournament because of an ankle injury. Kvitova said she fell and hurt her ankle during "post-match press requirements" after her first-round victory on Sunday. The 11th-seeded Kvitova saved a match point before coming back to beat Greet Minnen 6-7 (3) 7-6 (5) 6-1.
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