French Open 2018: Ankita Raina crashes out after straight-set defeat to Evgeniya Rodina in first round of qualifying

Paris: India’s Ankita Raina crashed out of the the French Open qualifiers with a 3-6, 6-7 defeat at the hands of Evgeniya Rodina of Russia in the women’s singles first round on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_4119827” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of India’s Ankita Raina. Reuters[/caption] After losing the first set, Ankita came back strongly against her 10th seeded opponent and took the second to the tie-breaker which she eventually lost. The contest lasted one hour and 41 minutes. On Monday, Sumit Nagal lost to 10th seed Slovakian Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the men’s singles first round. Ramkumar, who was seeded 12th lost to World No 225 Jay Clarke 3-6, 7-5, 1-6 in an hour and 51 minutes. The only Indian left in qualifying is Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who defeated Italian Salvatore Caruso in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to enter the second round. Gunneswaran faces 32nd seed Marcelo Arevalo from El Salvador on Wednesday. Yuki Bhambri has earned direct entry into the single’s main draw after breaking into top-100. The main draw of the tournament will be held from 27 May to 10 June. With inputs from PTI