Elina Svitolina fought back after a set and a break to beat Storm Hunter and reach the French Open third round on Wednesday, just 12 hours after husband Gael Monfils’ late-night escape act.
Ukraine’s Svitolina, competing in a Grand Slam event for the first time since the 2022 Australian Open, beat qualifier Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Home favorite Monfils picked up his first victory in nine months in a five-set first-round thriller against Sebastian Baez that ended after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“Yes, I watched it, but not live. I was screaming in my room so if someone heard me, it was me who was cheering on Gaël,” said Svitolina, who was supported on Court Simonne Mathieu by Monfils .
“It was an amazing game and I don’t know what he’s doing here now.
“He should rest. But I’m very grateful that he came to support me, especially in this difficult match.”
Svitolina, 28, only recently returned to the WTA Tour after maternity leave, having also taken a break due to health issues and mental exhaustion following the invasion of her home country by Russia.
The former world number three lost the first set and was then broken in the third game of the second.
But Svitolina found her form, breaking 204th-ranked Hunter six times in the rest of the game to claim the victory.
The three-time French Open quarter-finalist will next face fifth seed Caroline Garcia or Russia’s Anna Blinkova, in what would be a repeat of last week’s Strasbourg final won by Svitolina.
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