The draw in Paris is one of the best in the last few years with 4 top 10 players in action. 2011 champion Kvitova was also due to play but withdrew prior to her second round match on Thursday with a sore throat and virus. The top 4 seeds were given a bye.
(Rank/Seed)
5/1 Sharapova started brilliantly considering her disappointing fourth round exit in Melbourne, crushing Slovakia's Hantuchova 60 61. Sharapova's confectionary brand, Sugarpova is one of the tournament sponsors and it seems that the courts really suit Maria as she blasted 10 aces past her opponent.
7/3 Errani, a finalist here last year, upended her compatriot Knapp 64 63 for the first time in 4 meetings, using sublime drop shots to optimum effect.
9/4 Kerber, the 2012 champion defeated Czech, Zakopalova 62 75 for a 4th time in 5 meetings. She played unusually well behind her serve, losing only 11 points on serve all match to remain unbroken, finishing 5 of them to love!
10/5 Halep, coming off her first major quarter final in Melbourne, was playing her first week as a top 10 player, the first Romanian since Irina Spirlea in 1996 to achieve the feat. However, reality hit hard as she was narrowly beaten by home wildcard Mladenovic 76(1) 64, who was fresh off the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Daniel Nestor. After arriving only on Monday and suffering jetlag, Mladenovic looked to make the points short, hitting an impressive 11 aces and a flurry of forehand winners. Having missed a set point when serving for the first set at 6-5, Halep was never truly in contention again as Mladenovic routinely crushed the second serve return, maintaining Halep's winless record in the main draw here at 0-3. For Mladenovic, this was her second top 10 win having beaten Kvitova in the quarters here a year ago. She obviously loves Paris...I wonder why?
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