Defending champ Jasmine Paolini survives scare to advance in Rome

That's exactly what ninth-seeded and defending champion Jasmine Paolini did in her first match back on the clay at the Italian Open on Thursday in Rome.

Despite producing 57 unforced errors, Paolini edged France's Leolia Jeanjean, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in a match that featured long rallies and lasted two hours, 55 minutes.

"I was a little bit nervous," Paolini said after the match. "A lot of up and downs. She played a great match. Was a tough one, but I'm happy I stay there and managed to come back after the tough first set."

The top-seeded player from Italy seemed to be in control, leading 5-3 in the first set. But she dropped her service game and the 127th-ranked Jeanjean calmly held twice to force a tiebreaker. The underdog then played an aggressive tiebreaker and captured the first set.

Paolini broke Jeanjean three times in the second set and sent the match to a decider. With Jeanjean serving at 3-3, the two women played a 20-point game. Paolini had four break chances before finally capturing the game on her fifth attempt.

She did not lose a point on her final two service games and will face No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the third round. Paolini is only 11-9 on the season and has not defeated a player ranked in the top 40.

"This match was a bit of ups and downs, for sure," she said. "But I remember last year, I mean, also a lot of ups and downs during the tournament. Of course, the first round went better than this. Was another story, another year. I'm here. I practice well last week. I was feeling great before the tournament. I'm happy that I have another chance to play another match here in Rome."

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus knocked off former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3, and third-seeded Coco Gauff defeated another Czech player, Tereza Valentova, 6-3, 6-4. Gauff actually defended more break points that Valentova, but saved 6 of 10 while capturing 6 of 9.

Seven other seeded players prevailed, while four were eliminated.

No. 8 Russian Mirra Andreeva routed Croatia's Antonia Ruzic 6-1, 6-0; No. 12 Swiss standout Belinda Bencic overwhelmed Canada's Bianca Andreescu 6-4, 6-1; No. 13 Czech Linda Noskova eliminated Russia's Anastasia Zakharova 6-4, 6-1; No. 16 Iva Jovic edged fellow American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4); Mertens cruised past Hungary's Panny Udvardy 6-4, 6-2; No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia rallied to defeat Czech Katarina Siniakova, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5; and No. 26 Romanian Sorana Cirstea slammed Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-2, 6-0.

No. 18 Clara Tauson of Denmark retired after falling behind Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 3-1. The other seeded players to fall were Czech No. 24 Marie Bouzkova, who dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to Taylor Townsend; Australian No. 29 Australia Maya Joint, ousted 7-5, 6-2 by Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic; and No. 30 Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, who lost to China's Qinwen Zheng 7-6 (6), 6-2.

In other matches, Italy's Noemi Basiletti upset Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, 7-5, 6-4; Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko rallied to defeat Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; Argentina's Sorana Sierra knocked off Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina, 6-2, 6-3; and Simona Waltert of Switzerland beat Yulia Starodubtseva 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.

--Field Level Media