The 22nd-ranked Clara Tauson reached the second stage of the tournament by beating Magda Linette in three sets in the first round. The 34-year-old Arantxa Rus upset Colombia's Camila Osorio in the first round, beating the 51st-ranked player in three sets and clinching her second second-round ticket in Paris in thirteen years.
Tauson quickly took the initiative in the first set, racing to a 2-0 lead after breaking Rus in the second game and conceding just one point in the opening two games.
A battling Rus soon returned the favour, breaking her Danish opponent on her third break point of the third game. Close battles followed, and Rus took a break lead in the seventh game with some high-quality winners. Tauson, however, refused to back down and broke the Dutch Rus back first time of asking.
Desperately searching for a third break and showcasing near-impeccable net play, Rus rallied to another crucial lead, breaking Tauson in a back-and-forth ninth game of the first set. Tauson kept up the fight and got close to breaking Rus following a fantastic passing shot, and on her second break point, Tauson evened the set out again.
Tauson and Rus played a high level of tennis on court 13, exchanging a total of six breaks en route to a tiebreak. Tauson opened the first-set finale by taking three of the first four points and ran off to a 5-2 lead following two mini breaks. The Danish favourite earned herself four set points after her second ace of the set and went up 1-0 following an unforced error from Rus.
More breaks
Tauson picked up where she left things in the first set, breaking Rus to open the second set.
The Dane dominated the opening stages, but had to deal with a fierce comeback from her Dutch counterpart, who profited from a temporary lapse of concentration from Tauson and came back from 3-1 down to 4-4 and a one-break lead.
Tauson retook the lead in the ninth game and served for the match, but conceded another break as the match total was upped to a staggering 14 breaks in 22 games. A fourth consecutive break gave Tauson the golden opportunity to clinch the match with her own service game, and the Danish ace did what was asked of her: Tauson reached her third consecutive third round in Paris after two hours and nine minutes.
Tauson will meet the American Amanda Anisimova, the 16th-ranked player, in the third round after she beat Viktorija Golubic 6-0, 6-2.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
