Qualifying round 2 was completed at the French Open on Wednesday, reducing the draw down from 64 to 32 contenders now vying for the 16 main draw slots to be determined over the next two days.
I was finding my best, but then I got sick for three days after and couldn’t move, couldn’t practice. It’s been really tough getting back to this shape. Now I feel pretty good, confident and I hope this will take me another round. Rebecca Sramkova
Former Roland Garros finalist Sara Errani from Italy and semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek from Slovenia were among those to advance to the 3rd and final round.
Errani, who finished as the runner-up to Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros 12 years ago, stormed past wild-card Alice Tubello, 6-2 6-1, producing too much court-craft for the Frenchwoman to handle on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
“Today was very different [from the 1st-round], add in the rain, the roof, it was very humid, so it was very tough for me to play in these conditions,” stated the former World No 5. “The score looks easy. It wasn’t easy at all. I didn’t feel very good, I couldn’t find my game, but the important thing is to win, so I’m happy, of course.”
The top seed in qualifying, who is now 37 years old, will face Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse for a spot in her 14th main draw in Paris.
Ruse was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Suzan Lamens, the No 23 seed from the Netherlands.
Rebecca Sramkova, the World No 89, continued her standout run in Rome with a gutsy 6-2 3-6 6-4 win over youngster Linda Fruhvirtova at Roland Garros.
© Julien Crosnier / FFT
Meanwhile, Zidansek, who made the Last 4 in 2021, came from a set down to defeat 2023 Hamburg finalist Noma Noha Akugue from Germany, 4-6 6-4 6-1, to set up a final round match against 6th-seeded American Hailey Baptiste, who was a winner against Austria’s Sinja Kraus, 6-0 4-6 6-3, in a skirmish that was twice interrupted by rain.
Rebecca Sramkova, the World No 89 from Slovakia, continued her standout run in Rome with a gutsy 6-2 3-6 6-4 win over Czech youngster Linda Fruhvirtova.
In Rome the 27-year-old qualified for the main draw, defeated Top 30 talent Katie Boulter, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, before pushing Roland-Garros 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko to a third set tie-break in the Last 16.
As a reward, Sramkova has cracked the Top 100 for the first time.
“I was finding my best, but then I got sick for three days after and couldn’t move, couldn’t practice,” Sramkova said. “It’s been really tough getting back to this shape. Now I feel pretty good, confident and I hope this will take me another round.
“It’s amazing to live the life of a Top 100 player, to be someone. My coach is confident in me as a player and a person and that was why I could rise.
“To be up there with the great players, to get consistent good results, to hopefully win some titles. I don’t want to go down.”
For a place in the main draw, Sramkova meets Hungarian Panna Udvardy, the 27th seed, who took down Australia’s Patricia Hon, 6-4 6-4.
“I play Panna Udvardy, I know her very well from the ITF Tour,” added Sramkova. “It will be hard of course, it’s such a chance. Roland-Garros for me is favourite for me, of course I watched it all on the TV when I was little.”
Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean, who relishes the home support, dispatched No 18 seed Darja Semenistaja in 3 sets
© Clément Mahoudeau / FFT
Frenchwoman Leolia Jeanjean relishes the home support, which has driven her to 3rd-round and 2nd-round main draw appearances in her past 2 trips to Roland-Garros.
The World No 143 dispatched No 18 seed Darja Semenistaja from Latvia, 6-2 3-6 6-3, to set up a final contest with American Robin Montgomery.
“I started the match very well. Then there was a bit of a letdown in the second set with the [rain] interruptions. It was hard to get myself going again,” admitted Jeanjean. “She also changed her tactics and played better. But any win is good to take. Physically, I’m feeling pretty good. We’re lucky to have a great crowd, and I hope they’ll still be there for the next game.”
19-year Montgomery is one step away from her first Grand Slam main draw outside her home major, the US Open, after denying Czech teenager Brenda Fruhvirtova, 6-3 7-6(5).
The American came from 1-4 down in the second set, and the same score in the eventual tiebreak.
Of the 8 Top 10 qualifying seeds that reached the second round, 7 are playing for a main-draw place, with the lone upset authored by Montgomery.
18-year old Alexandra Eala won again and will become the first woman from the Philippines to qualify for a Grand Slam main draw if she can come through her next match on Thursday
© Clément Mahoudeau / FFT
2022 US Open junior champion Alex Eala, already the highest-ranked player from the Philippines in Hologic WTA Tour history, now hopes for a Roland Garros main-draw debut.
The 18-year-old defeated another member of the class of 2005, Aussie Taylah Preston, from a set behind to earn a spot against Julia Riera, the 2nd seed from Argentina, who has lost just 7 games in her 2 qualifying matches.
Riera continues to soar towards the main draw with a 6-3 6-2 passage past French hope, Harmony Tan.
No 5 seed Jule Niemeier from Germany, the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, also has lost just 7 games through her first two rounds in Paris, and she must now navigate past the No 32 seed Dalma Galfi from Hungary to make the main draw.
Jil Teichmann, a World No 21 from Switzerland, booked herself a 3rd-round shootout with Spain’s Irene Burillo Escorihuela courtesy of a 6-4 6-3 win over China’s Wei Sijia.
No 5 seed Jule Niemeier, the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, has lost just 7 games through her first two rounds in Paris
© Cédric Lecocq / FFT
