PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) – Fifth seed Jessica Pegula’s French Open struggles continued when she fell to a 1-6 6-3 6-3 defeat to Australian Kimberly Birrell in the first round, becoming the biggest casualty in the women’s draw on Tuesday.
Pegula, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, has now exited the claycourt major in the first round for the third time.
After a blazing start, Pegula lost her composure as unforced errors crept into her game, which allowed world number 83 Birrell to take control and reach at least the second round of a Grand Slam for the third time.
She will next face Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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