French Open 2017: Garbine Muguruza begins title defence with win, Caroline Wozniacki and Milos Raonic advance

Paris: Reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza breezed into the second round on Monday. Muguruza’s middling form this season saw her arrive in Paris with just three wins on clay, but the Spaniard dispatched 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-4. The fourth seed will meet Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit for a place in round three as Schiavone, who turns 37 in June, bid farewell to the tournament for the final time ahead of her retirement at the end of the year. [caption id=“attachment_3494165” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Spain’s Garbine Muguruza clenches her fist after scoring a point against Italy’s Francesca Schiavone at French Open 2017. AP[/caption] “I cannot believe in the first round we have two ex-champions. Not only that but Francesca is a legend and I was very excited to play on Philippe Chatrier court with her,” said Muguruza. “I like to take my chances and be aggressive and today that wasn’t going to be different.” Muguruza defeated Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam a year ago, but the 23-year-old needs to return to the final to stay in the world’s top 10. “I know I played good here before, but that doesn’t make me extra confident this year. I have to play well to earn that confidence again,” she said. Muguruza lost to Kontaveit at Stuttgart in April, although the Estonian is through to the second round of a Grand Slam for just the second time. Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark survived a second-set scare to beat Australian wild card Jaimee Fourlis and reach the second round of the French Open. The 17-year-old Fourlis, who is ranked 337th in the world and was appearing in only her second ever Grand Slam, lost the first set but raced into a 4-1 lead in the second against the 11th-seeded Wozniacki. Fourlis managed to save two of three match points on her serve before Wozniacki triumphed 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Despite the defeat, Fourlis walked off to a standing ovation. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic raced into round two with a routine 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Steve Darcis of Belgium. Raonic, whose best run at the French Open came when he made the 2014 quarter-finals, fired 15 aces and 44 winners to book a meeting with Mikhail Youzhny of Russia or Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva. With inputs from AFP and AP