It was a frustrating day on many levels, and Erakovic spent most of it not knowing if she would even play her first-round match against Great Britain's Elena Baltacha because of weather delays, but those were quickly erased as she broke through for just her second win in singles in her last eight tournaments.
"I was here from about 9.30am and there were moments when I thought we wouldn't get on today so it was a really, really long wait," Erakovic told Newstalk ZB.
"It can be draining, especially just sitting around watching the screens and watching the scores change so when it was time to go I just got really pumped and felt good."
She was feeling even better by the end of her 6-3 6-0 demolition of Baltacha in just 53 minutes. It was a match she should have won, given Baltacha has a ranking of 200 and last week played only her first tournament since the Olympics, and she will now take on 16th-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova who beat Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 6-1 6-4 in her first-round match.
Cibulkova has won the two previous meetings between the two players, both on hard court, and will go in as overwhelming favourite.
"Dominika is a good player and I have lost to her a couple of times," said Erakovic, who is presently ranked 92. "But it's a different day and another match. We have never played on clay. It should be good.
"She moves pretty well and likes to play aggressively so I need to be on my game and look to be aggressive myself and take it to her."
It was an approach that worked well against Baltacha but she was rarely put under pressure. Baltacha opened out a 2-0 lead in the first set but Erakovic then won 12 of the next 13 games to wrap up the match in just 53 minutes.
She's hopeful this result will help her turn around her fortunes in singles because she went into the encounter having won only one of her previous seven matches since winning her maiden WTA title in February. That run has weighed heavily on her mind and Erakovic admitted nerves were an issue throughout against Baltacha.
"There were moments, even in the second set, when I was tight and maybe could have dropped a game but I fought hard and really tried to focus on my movement and hitting the ball," she said. "Even though I got nervous, I think it really helped me in crucial situation.
"I'm thrilled after having a few tight ones over the last few weeks just to get this one under my belt."
Erakovic and former world No 1 doubles player Cara Black will team up in the doubles and take on the German pairing of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic in the first round. Erakovic and Black head into the French Open having reached consecutive WTA doubles finals.
"They are a good team and will be solid off the back... but I think we will have the advantage at the net because we are both volleyers."
