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French Open 2018: Simona Halep beats Alison Riske to reach second round

World number one Simona Halep began her bid for a first Grand Slam title with a gutsy fightback in her rain-delayed French Open first-round match.

Halep, last year's runner-up, lost the first set before recovering to win 2-6 6-1 6-1 against American Alison Riske.

Ukraine's fourth seed Elina Svitolina reached the third round with a 6-3 6-4 win over Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, seeded eighth, also beat Spain's Lara Arruabarrena 6-0 6-4.

Halep overcomes slow start

Two-time French Open finalist Halep has spent much of the past seven months as the world's leading female player, despite never transferring her consistency on tour into lifting one of tennis' most prestigious prizes.