France's Benoit Paire, right, congratulates Japan's Kei Nishikori after his second round win in the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday.
tennis
Kei Nishikori rallied past local favorite Benoit Paire on Wednesday to reach the third round of the French Open for the fourth consecutive year. The 19th-seeded Japanese player needed nearly three hours on Court Philippe Chatrier to win 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 against the Frenchman.
"He was attacking every shot," Nishikori said. "He has one of the best touches on the Tour, it was fun to play him and also a difficult match today."
Former French Open champion Novak Djokovic posted another straight-set win to reach the third round. Facing Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar, the Serb delivered a solid display to prevail 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4 and move into the third round for the 13th time.
Djokovic, who underwent right elbow surgery earlier this year, is the 20th-seeded player in Paris, his lowest Grand Slam seeding since the 2006 U.S. Open.
Meanwhile, the French Open continued to be Sam Querrey's least successful Grand Slam tournament and the American bowed out early again as this year's No. 12 seed. He was beaten 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-1 by Gilles Simon of France in the second round.
Querrey hadn't even won a single match at Roland Garros since 2014 until beating Frances Tiafoe in the first round.
Fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov came back to beat 21-year-old Jared Donaldson 6-7 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a second-round marathon that lasted 4 hours, 19 minutes on Court 18 at Roland Garros.
When it ended, Dimitrov leaned forward while raising each knee to give it a kiss - perhaps thanking his legs for carrying him to the win while Donaldson's gave way.
Donaldson, who is ranked 57th, was actually two points from winning when he led 6-5 in the fifth and got to love-30 on Dimitrov's serve. But Dimitrov took the next four points to hold for 6-all.
Dimitrov broke to lead 8-7 and served for the victory, but Donaldson broke right back. In the next game, though, Donaldson could barely stand, let alone move well.
Second-seeded Alexander Zverev trailed by a set and a break - and was down a broken racket, too - before eventually collecting himself and coming back to beat 60th-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Jeremy Chardy first wasted a two-set lead and then bounced back to beat 17th-seeded Tomas Berdych to reach the second round of the French Open.
Chardy led by two sets when their match was stopped by darkness on Tuesday, but Berdych mounted a comeback when they returned. Chardy played well in the decider and broke Berdych twice to advance with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8), 1-6, 5-7, 6-2 win.
In the women's draw, top-ranked Simona Halep put aside a terrible start and came back to claim 12 of the last 14 games, beating 83rd-ranked Alison Riske of the United States 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the second round.
Halep, the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2014 and a year ago, played poorly in the first set, with only four winners and 16 unforced errors. But she had 16 winners and 12 unforced errors the rest of the way, while Riske made more and more mistakes.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova went through to the third round, making light work of 91st-ranked Lara Arruabarrena of Spain in a 6-0, 6-4 win on Court 1.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens did not waste any time reaching the third round of the French Open, and her clinical display impressed former U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe.
Stephens, who did not play in Paris last year because of a foot injury, advanced at the clay-court Grand Slam with a 6-2, 6-2 win over qualifier Magdalena Frech.
Caroline Wozniacki dropped just 25 points in her lopsided 6-1, 6-0 win over qualifier and Roland Garros debutant Georgina Garcia Perez of Spain, as the second-ranked Dane easily advanced to the third round of the French Open.
Wozniacki delivered a ruthless performance on Court Philippe Chatrier, limiting her mistakes to eight unforced errors. She did not face a break point and completed the win in 51 minutes. She put on a similar display in her opening match, hitting only 13 unforced errors in a straight-set victory.
Japan's Naomi Osaka advanced to the third round, defeating Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas. Osaka, seeded 21, won 6-4, 7-5 victory.
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