Jabeur mows down Bronzetti in French Open first round

PARIS : World number seven Ons Jabeur made a near-flawless start to her French Open campaign as she brushed aside unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-4 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the second round.

Jabeur has had a stop-start season in which she had minor knee surgery before winning the title in Charleston and skipping the Madrid Open with a calf problem but the Tunisian was in peak form in Paris as she eased through the first set.

Bronzetti came into the clash on Court Philippe Chatrier high on confidence after winning the first singles title of her career in Rabat but the 24-year-old's hopes of ending a five-match losing run at the majors faded as the contest wore on.

Jabeur, the runner-up at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open, blended guile and power as she reeled off the breaks in the second set to go 5-0 up before dropping serve.

The 28-year-old quickly shook off that minor dip to comfortably close out the contest in the following game when Bronzetti sent a shot wide at the net.