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© Associated Press
Tsvetana Pironkova began her participation at Roland Garros with a victory, beating the first round in Paris. She defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-3 and the match lasted one hour and 14 minutes. The German, who is currently ranked 87th in the world, was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2014.
Pironkova scored a second victory in her third match with Petkovic.
The Bulgarian played a strong match, which reinforced her good form after returning to the pitch. At the US Open, she reached the quarter-finals of her first tournament after a three-year hiatus.
In the second round, Pironkova will face match winner Serena Williams and Christy Ann. The Bulgarian played with Williams in New York, losing to her in a dramatic match.
The start of the meeting was delayed for more than an hour due to the rain over Paris. In the end, the weather improved and allowed games to be held in the French capital, despite the low temperatures of just 14 degrees.
Pironkova finished with 23 winners and a total of 21 unprovoked errors. She showed a solid service game, winning nearly 60% of the points played on her first pass. Petkovic, who is also returning to the court after a long break, was more indecisive.
The German committed six double faults, took only 16% of the points in her second pass and had big problems. It ended with just 12 winners and 29 unprovoked errors.
Pironkova started the match very well, leading early with 3: 0 after two advances. In the next game, Petkovic returned one of them, but Pironkova regained her comfortable lead at 5: 2. At the end of the set, both players were unable to make their passes, with two more advances.
Thus, the Bulgarian closed the first half with 6: 3 in 39 minutes.
The second set was even shorter. Pironkova took the lead again with 2: 0, before allowing a breakthrough. The result continued to develop match by match until 3: 2, when the Bulgarian recorded another advance and took a convincing lead.
Petkovic had big problems with her passing, while Pironkova played with more confidence and made no further mistakes. She closed the game with 6: 3.
