Defending French Open champion Garbine Muguruza had to claw her way back from a set down to survive a scare from Anett Kontaveit and move into the third round with a 6-7 6-4 6-2 win.
It was a slow start for the Spanish world No.5, but she eventually worked her way into the contest, growing in confidence as the game progressed to set up a third-round match against Yulia Putintseva.
“I think I was a little bit nervous when I started off, because I knew she was going to be a tough opponent. She was very quiet, very relaxed, and I had to calm down,” Muguruza.
“So it took me a while to get things back under control.”
The Spaniard, who had looked in real trouble when Kontaveit, ranked 53rd in the world and in stellar form that has seen her reach the final in Biel and the quarter-finals in Rome, took a one-set and 2-0 lead.
Muguruza, who was beaten by Kontaveit in Stuttgart in April, was kept in the contest by her serve, winning 72 per cent of all her first service points.
“In all of these long rallies, it’s really important to have a robust serve, to have a little more robustness and don’t rush things,” she said.
She needed just over two hours to overcome Kontaveit, who by that time had run out of steam, slapping a backhand wide.
“I refused to feel I was being defeated. I knew I could turn things around. I knew that if I insisted with my strategy I could succeed,” Muguruza said.
Home favourite Kristina Mladenovic put her back pain behind her as she also cruised into the third round with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Italy’s Sara Errani, while former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki did things the easy way with a double-bagel win over Canada’s Francoise Abanda. The Dane will next face Cici Bellis.
Elsewhere, Leila Tsurenko and Jelena Ostapenko had easy wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Monica Puig respectively, while 10th seed Venus Williams eased into the third round with a 6-3 6-1 win over Japan’s Kurumi Nara.
Rising American teenager Bellis upset 18th seed Kiki Bertens in straight sets and compatriot Shelby Rogers was too good for Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay.
Seeds Zhang Shuai and Timea Bacsinszky both booked spots in the third round as did Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
