PARIS — Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova, not a natural mover on clay, dug deep to reach the French Open second round by laboring to a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over New Zealand's Marina Erakovic on Tuesday.
The double Wimbledon champion looked nothing like the player who defeated world number one Serena Williams en route to the Madrid Open claycourt title earlier this month as she put in a shaky performance on court Philippe Chatrier.
Kvitova was under early pressure, facing four break points in her first three service games with Erakovic grabbing the last one to go 3-2 up when the Czech double faulted.