Smith, Saville through in Paris qualifying
John Patrick Smith and Luke Saville lead the Aussie charge in French Open qualifying, while Olivia Rogowska and Anastasia Rodionova will begin their campaign in the women's event.
Paris, 20 May 2015 | tennis.com.au
It took three sets, but John Patrick Smith was the winner of the all-Australian battle with John Millman in the first round of qualifying at the French Open.
In an evenly-matched contest Smith, 26, claimed the bigger points to win 6-4 1-6 6-3 and set up a second round meeting with Marius Copil.
The Queenslander was joined in the second round by South Australian Luke Saville, who came from behind to defeat 23rd seed Farrukh Dustov 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4. Saville now plays Brazilian Guilherme Clezar, who progressed after eliminating Australian Ben Mitchell 7-6(4) 6-4.
Australia’s Jordan Thompson also exited, with Marco Cecchinaton the 7-5 6-2 winner of their encounter.
Jason Kubler’s match against Tim Puetz is suspended in the fourth game due to rain. Similarly, Alex Bolt has played just a set against Bjorn Fratangelo but it is the American who holds a 6-4 lead.
View French Open men’s qualifying draw
The women’s qualifying draw was also released overnight. Australia’s Olivia Rogowska takes on Frenchwoman Tessah Andrianjafitrmo, while Anastasia Rodionova faces Israeli Julia Glushko, who is the 10th seed in women’s qualifying.