Bethanie Mattek-Sands tops former champ Li Na in 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 and reaches 3rd round of French.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands of America pulled the carpet from under 2011 French Open champion Li Na’s feet 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in their rain-interrupted second round match of this year’s Roland Garros.
Mattek-Sands was outmatched in the first set but pounced on the Chinese national’s sluggish restart after two rain interruptions, resuming the second set with a 4-3 lead before bagging seven games in a row and take a 5-0 lead in the decider.
“I got up 5-0 and I was spanking returns. I went out there and I wanted to play aggressive, and that’s what I did,” said Mattek-Sands, who will face Argentine Paula Ormaechea in the third round.
“At a grand slam, it’s my biggest win. I’m really proud of myself that I was able to close out the match the way I did,” added Mattek-Sands.
The 66th-ranked American lost the sixth game of the third set when China’s only Grand Slam singles winner broke serve and extend the match. But Mattek-Sands regained her composure to end the game and prevented Li, who played in the Australian Open’s finals this January, from reaching another French Open final.
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