The beautiful story continues for Léolia Jeanjean. The Frenchwoman, away from the professional circuit for almost ten years, and stopped by injuries, qualified for the third round of Roland-Garros after her clear victory against Karolina Pliskova (6-2, 6-2 in 1h12), Thursday, May 26. More efficient and formidable from start to finish, Jeanjean, who is playing his first Grand Slam, easily dominated the former world number 1, uninspired, and guilty of too many errors. She will face in the next round the winner of the opposition between Ekaterina Alexandrova and Irina-Camelia Begu.
Everything changed in the middle of the first round. While the two players went blow for blow in a hung start to the match, Jeanjean raised his voice on his opponent’s serve. On two drop balls, she thwarted Pliskova and her long game. A double fault from the Czech later, and Jeanjean made the break, before unrolling and pocketing the first set (6-2).
In front of a filled Simonne-Mathieu court, won over to her cause, Léolia Jeanjean then left nothing to her opponent of the day. Carried by a varied game (a passing, two volleys in the second set), she continued on her good momentum and broke from the start of the second set, against a Pliskova in distress (26 unforced errors). More solid, more opportunistic (4 break points won against 0 for Pliskova), she remained focused until the end, conceding only two small games (6-2).
And as soon as the chance to conclude presented itself, she did not let it pass, completing the meeting on her only match point, after an hour and a quarter of play. “I find it so incredible, I’m very happy to be here and to have had the chance to play”she reacted immediately after the game.
A magnificent result for the former rising star of French tennis, who spent several years away from the professional circuit after a serious injury at 14, and who launched the crazy challenge to come back. A victory that she immediately savored: “I don’t really realize what’s going on. I don’t have the chance to play on big courts and to have such an atmosphere, it’s nice, I’m very happy. She, who is playing the first Grand Slam tournament of her career, has still not lost a set at Roland-Garros, and is advancing towards the third round to continue dreaming.