Francesca Schiavone finally broke her losing run as in her first match in Open GDF Suez de Limoges; she beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania in the straight sets.
This was victory no. 554 for Schiavone. Now, only five active players have more victories on the tour than the veteran Italian.
Schiavone, who is 34 years of age now and is probably in her last season, had been totally out of form since August.
She had come to Limoges losing three matches on the trot, but, some mistakes made by her opponent in yesterday’s match got her going and once she gained her confidence, it was hard for Dulgheru to match her skills.
In the second set though, there was some fight from the Romania international. She was actually able to drag the set in the tie breaker and won some key points there too, but, the experienced Schiavone kept her shape in the crunch situation and won the tie breaker 7 points to 4 to end the contest.
Meanwhile, the young sensation from France Caroline Garcia who had also been on a bit of a losing run managed to get back to winning ways as she got better of Timea Babos in a three setter to make her way to the second round.
Speaking in the post match interview, Garcia said, “I was not in my zone initially. The first half an hour, 40 minutes, it was full of nervousness, but, then, I calmed myself down and tried to play on my strengths and I am thankful to be able to come out on the positive side.”
Garcia is presently ranked 34th in the world. That’s her highest ranking ever. As far as this Limoges tournament is concerned, she has been given the second seed here.