Paris Oct 26 (IANS) Spanish badminton star Carolina Marin kicked off her 2017 French Open campaign with a 21-17 21-18 victory over Japan s Minatsu Mitani.
Mitani took a 16-12 lead at Stade Pierre de Coubertin here when Marin missed two consecutive smashes but the world No. 4 reeled off nine of the next 10 points and clinched the first game when the Japanese player netted a return of serve on Wednesday reports Efe.
The Spaniard got off to a better start in the second game grabbing an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval and then extending that advantage to 19-10 when Mitani sent a smash wide.
Marin took her foot off the gas as Mitani saved five straight match points to make the score 20-18 but the 2016 Olympic gold medallist clinched the first-round victory when the Japanese player netted a drop shot.
Next up for Marin in the second round will be 32nd-ranked South Korean Lee Jang-mi a 21-14 14-21 21-10 winner over Japan s Sayaka Sato.
Marin winner of the French Open in 2015 has been drawn in the tough top half of the women s singles draw which also includes Chinese defending champion He Bingjiao Taiwanese world No. 1 and top seed Tai Tzu-ying and Thai world No. 9 Ratchanok Intanon winner of last week s Denmark Open.
In men s singles action on Wednesday second-seeded South Korean Son Wan-ho the world No. 2 was stunned in the first round by Denmark s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-16 21-19.
--IANS
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