Puig upsets Petrova at French Open

Paris, May 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti)

Monica Puig in action against Nadia Petrova.

World No.11 Nadia Petrova failed to clear the first-round hurdle at the French Open, suffering a three-set defeat to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.

The Russian, who reached the semi-finals in 2003 and 2005, made 50 unforced errors as she lost 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 in two hours and 32 minutes.

In the second round, Puig who reached her first main draw at Grand Slam tournaments, will face either United States’ Madison Keys or Japan’s Misaki Doi.

Russia’s 19th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a tough fight to beat Czech player Andrea Hlavackova 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Her second-round opponent will be another Czech, Petra Cetkovska, who crushed Russia’s Olga Puchkova 6-0, 6-2.