Roland-Garros: Mertens reaches third round of a Grand Slam for the 17th time in a row

Belgian Elise Mertens, the No 31 seed, became the first player to reach the third round of Roland-Garros after Czech Marie Bouzkova withdrew before their match on Wednesday in Paris.

Bouzkova was forced to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19.

Mertens will play either Australian Ajla Tomljanovic or Russian Varvara Gracheva in the third round.

The Belgian had been on the sidelines since April and came back from an injury break last week in Strasbourg, where she reached the quarter-finals. The Belgian had defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse (6-3, 6-1).

This is the 17th consecutive time that Mertens has reached the third round at a Grand Slam, dating back to the Australian Open in 2018.

You might also like this

Roland-Garros: Sabalenka wobbles against Paquet but reaches second round

tennis majors

Roland-Garros: Gaston knocks out De Minaur to thrill home crowd

tennis majors

Roland-Garros: Swiatek extends winning streak to 29 with first-round win in Paris

tennis majors

Roland-Garros: Badosa blitzes Ferro to reach second round

tennis majors

Roland-Garros: Kerber saves match points against Frech to reach second round

tennis majors