ELINA SVITOLINA battled back from a set and a break down to beat Storm Hunter and reach the third round at the French Open on Wednesday, just 12 hours after her husband Gael Monfils’ late-night escape act.
Ukrainian Svitolina, playing at a Grand Slam event for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open, downed qualifier Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Home favourite Monfils claimed his first win in nine months in a five-set first-round thriller against Sebastian Baez which finished after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“Yes, I watched him, but not live. I was screaming in my room so if someone heard me, it was me cheering for Gael,” said Svitolina, who was being supported on Court Simonne Mathieu by Monfils.
“It was an unbelievable match and I don’t know what he’s doing here now.
“He should be resting. But I’m very thankful that he came to support me, especially in this tough match.”
The 28-year-old Svitolina only recently returned to the WTA Tour from maternity leave, having also previously taken a break citing health problems and mental exhaustion following Russia’s invasion of her home country.
The former world number three dropped the opening set and was then broken in the third game of the second.
But Svitolina found her form, breaking 204th-ranked Hunter six times in the rest of the match to power to victory.
The three-time French Open quarter-finalist will next face either fifth seed Caroline Garcia or Russian Anna Blinkova, in what would be a repeat of last week’s Strasbourg final won by Svitolina.
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
The Greek fifth seed, the Roland Garros runner-up in 2021, claimed a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 win on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Tsitsipas will next face either Argentinian Diego Schwartzman or Portugal’s Nuno Borges for a place in the second week.
French Open results on Wednesday, the fourth day of the 2023 championships at Roland Garros (x denotes seeded player; players representing Russia and Belarus are banned from competing under the name or flag of their countries):
Men
2nd rd
Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt Jason Kubler (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x5) bt Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2
Women
2nd rd
Elise Mertens (BEL x28) bt Camila Osorio (COL) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)
Jessica Pegula (USA x3) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-2 — retired
Elina Svitolina (UKR) bt Storm Sanders (AUS) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Peyton Stearns (USA) bt Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x17) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
