French Open 2019: Del Potro, Azarenka Highlight Tuesday's Early Results

Victoria Azarenka knocked out 2017 Roland-Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round of the 2019 French Open on Tuesday.

The Belorussian prevailed in straight sets over her Latvian counterpart and could face No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka in the second round.

Meanwhile, Juan Martin del Potro needed four sets to beat Nicolas Jarry after dropping the first set 3-6, though he lost just nine games following the setback to secure his progression. 

Men's No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev survived an impressive comeback from John Millman after going two sets up against the Australian.

Elsewhere in the women's draw on Tuesday, reigning champion Simona Halep will begin her title defence against Ajla Tomljanovic, while No. 1 seed Naomi Osaka—who won the 2018 U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open—faces Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Selected Men's Singles Matches, Results

(5) Alexander Zverev bt. John Millman, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3

(8) Juan Martin del Potro bt. Nicolas Jarry, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

(9) Fabio Fognini bt. Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3

(10) Karen Khachanov vs. Cedrik-Marcel Stebe

Taro Daniel vs. (14) Gael Monfils

(18) Roberto Bautista Agut bt. Steve Johnson, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Selected Women's Singles Matches, Results

Karolina Muchova bt. (17) Anett Kontaveit, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2

Victoria Azarenka bt. Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 7-6 (4)

(1) Naomi Osaka vs. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova

(3) Simona Halep vs. Ajla Tomljanovic

(11) Aryna Sabalenka vs. Dominika Cibulkova

Evgeniya Rodina vs. (14) Madison Keys

Full fixtures and results can be found at the French Open's official website.

Recap

Despite playing just two sets against Azarenka, Ostapenko made 17 double-faults and 60 unforced errors.

Azarenka punished Ostapenko's loose play, coming from behind in both sets to take the win.

As Record's Jose Morgado noted, Ostapenko has endured a difficult time at Roland-Garros since her maiden Grand Slam victory:

It was also an uncomfortable day for Zverev in Paris.

The German took the first set against Millman via a tiebreaker after the pair shared two breaks of serve apiece, and it was far from a convincing performance from the former:

Even in the second set, which Zverev won 6-3, he still gave up another two breaks.

Millman managed to take advantage of Zverev's struggles before long, and the match eventually went to a decisive fifth set.

The No. 5 seed has played at least one five-set match in the first three rounds of four of the last five Grand Slams, so tennis writer Ben Rothenberg was not surprised:

Zverev showed his frustration at the situation at the end of the fourth:

Millman's efforts were undone by a collapse in the fifth. From 40-0 up and on the verge of a 4-4 scoreline, he lost five points in a row to hand Zverev a 5-3 lead.

The 22-year-old went on to secure his passage to the next round, but he won't be happy with a performance that included 14 double-faults and 73 unforced errors, per the tournament's official website.