Defeat fails to knock confidence of Robson

The 18-year-old was given a reprieve after losing in the final round of qualifying on Friday having held match points when she was named as first alternate and then benefited from the withdrawal of Silvia Soler-Espinosa with an ankle injury.

But her prize was a clash with 29th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, whose 10 clay titles are the most of any active player on the WTA Tour, and the Spaniard proved too strong in a 6-2 6-1 victory.

The match was not as one-sided as the score suggests, with Robson hitting the ball very well in the first set in particular, but she could not take any of four break points and eventually succumbed to the greater consistency and speed around the court of her opponent.

Robson said: “It was a really tough one, because she is such a hard player to play, especially on clay. She’s so experienced and doesn’t give any free points basically.

“I definitely think that I should have taken the opportunities on the break points in the first set and at the beginning of the second set.”

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, Victoria Azarenka was a relieved woman after narrowly avoiding an unwanted place in history.

No top seed has lost in the first round in the women’s singles at Roland Garros, but Azarenka looked to be heading that way when she trailed Italian Alberta Brianti by a set and 4-0.

But Azarenka held on and from there reeled off six games in a row before eventually coming through 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 6-2.

“Bad days happen,” said Azarenka. “Unfortunately I had way more mistakes than I usually do, but it happens sometimes. She played really well, and she pushed me to dig deep.”

Defending champion Li Na, a surprise winner 12 months ago, showed no such frailties as she brushed aside Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-1.

Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska thumped Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 6-1 6-0, while home favourite and eighth seed Marion Bartoli was a comfortable 6-3 6-3 winner over qualifier Karolina Pliskova.

The outstanding performances came from 18-year-old Lauren Davis, who thrashed 30th seed Mona Barthel 6-1 6-1, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a 6-4 6-3 winner over 12th seed Sabine Lisicki.