Tennis-French hopes down the drain as Garcia stumbles out of Roland Garros

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2023 France's Caroline Garcia in action during her second round match against Russia's Anna Blinkova REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

PARIS (Reuters) - French hopes of a Roland Garros singles' champion were all but extinguished as Russian Anna Blinkova sent fifth seed Caroline Garcia tumbling out with a 4-6 6-3 7-5 second-round victory on Wednesday.

Blinkova, who had already knocked Garcia out in Paris in 2019, prevailed on her ninth match point to end a tussle that lasted nearly three hours.