Bondar had stopped the Ukrainian in Madrid leading in – the last player to beat her before her Rome title triumph – and in the opening round of last year’s US Open following opening-round defeats at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon last year.
Shaking the letdown of being broken to love while serving for the match at 5-4, Svitolina – a five-time quarterfinalist in Paris – regrouped to dominate the match tiebreak for a second-round meeting with qualifier Katie Quevedo or wildcard Leolia Jeanjean.
More to come …
