On a day where eight Roland Garros women’s matches went to three sets, the top French Open WTA seeds found very few bumps in the road en route to the third round.

No Top-10 Surprises

After a day that featured a number of upsets at Roland Garros, the seas calmed for top-10 seeds in action on Thursday. Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Jelena Jankovic, and Sara Errani all advanced.

After a tight first set, sixth seed Jankovic cruised to the third round with a 7-5 6-0 victory against Kurumi Nara. The veteran Serb took full control of the second set with early breaks, never allowing Nara into the set. Meanwhile, 10th seed Sara Errani found no trouble advancing past Dinah Pfizenmaier of Germany, 6-2 6-4. Errani played a clean first set, with only six unforced errors in just over 30 minutes.

Elsewhere, it was fifth seed Petra Kvitova jumping out to early breaks in both the first and second sets on her way to a 6-4 6-4 win over Marina Erakovic. Erakovic did not go without a fight, breaking back in the second and taking a 3-1 lead. However, Kvitova was not to be denied, bouncing back to take the match. The win sets up an interesting clash with veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.

On Court 1, fourth seed Simona Halep flexed her muscles against Heather Watson of Great Britain. Halep was on the attack, consistently forcing the young Brit into a bevy of errors. Although Watson  gave a spirited effort late, when the dust settled, it was a relatively easy 6-2 6-4 victory for Halep.

Sloane Stephens Lone American Winner

15th seed Sloane Stephens roared into the third round, defeating Polona Hercog 6-1 6-3. But two other Americans fell short in their bid to advance as Alison Riske and Coco Vandeweghe both fell.

Stephens dominated her service games while taking advantage of Hercog’s struggles with her first serve. Hercog placed less than 50 percent in play. After blitzing through the first set, Stephens met some resistance in the second as Hercog battled to stay in the match, breaking the American's serve. But Stephens managed to regain control to close out the match. 

In one of the best matches of the day, Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Alison Riske 7-6 3-6 6-3. In a match that had everything, Mladenovic thrilled the home crowd after a series of ebbs and flows. After Mladenovic took a first-set tiebreak, Riske appeared to be in trouble as she fell into a 1-3 deficit in the second set. Always the fighter, she battled back to take the next five games to even the match. The Frenchwomen then was forced to call for the trainer to address a back issue. However, with the French crowd chanting her name, Mladenovic jumped to a quick start in the third set. After a series of breaks by both players, Mladenovic finished off the American behind a strong service game. 

Ekaterina Makarova eliminated Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets. The American struggled with her serve, tossing in seven double faults while failing to consistently place her serve in play. She fell to the 22nd seed 6-4 6-3.

With results from today, only two Americans are left in the draw. Joining Stephens is 18-year-old Taylor Townsend who will be back in third-round action on Friday.