Story highlights
Li Na reaches the French Open third round after beating Stephanie Foretz Gacon
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also win
2011 runner-up Francesca Schiavone fights back to beat Tsvetana Pironkova
No. 10 Angelique Kerber and 18th seed Flavia Pennetta will play each in round three
Defending champion Li Na continued the defense of her French Open crown on Thursday with a second round win over Stephanie Foretz Gacon.
Seventh seed Li, who became China’s first grand slam champion with her Roland Garros triumph last year, recorded a straight-forward 6-0 6-2 victory over the Frenchwoman in just 52 minutes.
The 30-year-old will play unseeded American Christina McHale in round three, after the world No. 35 got the better of compatriot Lauren Davis.
Li’s fellow grand slam winner Petra Kvitova also registered a comfortable win, beating 90th-ranked Pole Urszula Radwanska 6-1 6-3.
The 2011 Wimbledon champion, ranked No. 4 in the world, set up a meeting with Russian Nina Bratchikova.
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki also looked in good touch as she scored a 6-1 6-4 victory against Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova.
The Dane, who is yet to win a grand slam title, has not clinched a WTA Tour title since August 2011 and has recently struggled with form and fitness.
But having switched from being coached by her father Piotr to working with former Australian Open Champion Thomas Johansson, Wozniacki feels positive about her future.
“It’s been working well,” the 21-year-old, who will face 23rd seed Kaia Kanepi in round three, told the tournament’s official website. “He tells me what he thinks and he’s not soft.
“I don’t like when someone tells me, ‘Oh, it’s great, it’s great’ when it’s actually terrible … I want someone who is strict and tells me things how they are.”
Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, a beaten finalist in 2011, battled back from one set down against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova to set up a contest with Uzbekistan-born American Varvara Lepchenko.
Lepchenko, ranked 61 in the world, advanced courtesy of a shock 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4 win against former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.
German 10th seed Angelique Kerber cruised past Bulgaria’s Olga Govortsova, winning 6-3 6-2. The 24-year-old will play Italian No. 18 Flavia Pennetta in round three.
