The New Zealand tennis player Marina Erakovic gave her all and came close to scoring a big upset in the first round of the French Open at Roland Garros.
Marina Erakovic Photo: Photosport
Erakovic has been beaten in 3 sets by the 4th seed Petra Kvitova with the Czech needing three breaks in the final set to win 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Wimbledon champion Kvitova needed two and a half hours to see off New Zealand's world number 80, getting broken six times and committing 47 unforced errors.
Erakovic says it's a tough loss as she felt she played very well and had a number off opportunities.
Kvitova goes on to face Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain for a place in the last 32.
Kvitova was a semi-finalist in Paris in 2012 and had clinched the claycourt title in Madrid earlier this month.
But she struggled throughout large parts of the match against an opponent she had previously defeated four times out of four.
She trailed by a break in the first set before recovering and was quickly a double break down in the second.
Kvitova was twice a break to the good in the decider but the Croatian-born Erakovic battled back to 4-all before the Czech finally sealed the tie.
Kvitova said she knew the match would be difficult.
"I think she can hit a ball well. She's a smart player with a good touch and I'm just really glad that I won."
Meanwhile just one of the three New Zealand men involved in the doubles has made it through the first round.
Artem Sitak and partner Nicholas Monroe of the United States beat a German-Austrian combination, while Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell lost their respective matches.
