Agnieszka Radwanska has kept her hopes of a maiden Grand Slam title alive by beating Barbora Strycova to reach the fourth round of the French Open this afternoon.
The world number two needed three sets to battle past her opponent, but eventually came through 6-2 [6]6-7 6-2 to progress at Roland Garros.
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The Pole did not get off to a good start by dropping serve in the very first game of the match, but she broke back immediately to level things up.
Indeed, Strycova was only able to hold serve once throughout the opener as Radwanska eased to a 6-2 victory by reeling off four games in a row at the end of the set.
She extended that streak to seven by racing into a 3-0 lead in the second set, but the number 30 seed fought back and herself won five games on the bounce to give herself a lifeline.
Radwanska managed to force a tiebreak with another win against the serve in the 10th game, but both players struggled to pick up their own points in the breaker and Strycova eventually came out on top 8-6.
It was the first time that the Czech had ever forced a third set against Radwanska, and she appeared to run out of steam having reached that uncharted territory.
The second seed quickly moved into a 3-0 lead and, although Strycova managed to record two breaks, she failed to win a single game on her own serve in the decider as Radwanska took it 6-2.
The Pole will now face either Tsvetana Pironkova or Sloane Stephens in the next round at Roland Garros.
