Aryna Sabalenka went down an early break of serve but quickly snapped back on the way to a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Jil Teichmann in the French Open second round on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Sabalenka broke the Swiss back – and threw in another for good measure – in the victory lasting 81 minutes.
The two-time Australian Open winner repeated a victory from early 2022 against the 97th-ranked Teichmann.
The match turned quickly into one-way traffic for the world No. 1, who won nine straight games to seal the set and take a 4-0 lead in the second before closing out what turned into an evening match.
“She started well and played her best game,” Sabalenka said. “She’s a very tricky opponent.
“When I was down 3-1 I just stepped in and found my rhythm. I just glad i held serve then,
“I felt I had more energy and told myself I was back in the match. But it was not easy like the scoreline – she made me work for every point.”
Four-time winner Iga Swiatek won her 23rd match at the event as she beat emma raducanu for the fifth time without the loss of a set.
Poland’s world No. 5 won a battle of current and former Grand Slam champions 6-1, 6-2, backing up her defeat of the Briton from the Australian Open in January.
“I just want to play my game, I felt so good on court.” the former No. 1 said. “I felt I could do whatever I wanted.
“I had to adjust to the wind, that was tricky. But I’m happy I did that well.”
Swiatek said that Thursday’s day off before her third-round match will be spent in seeking calm.
“I’ll chill, go to the park, read a book. I won’t watch TV because I can get weird dreams.”
Last year’s finalist Jasmine Paolini returned to a relatively empty Chatrier showcourt to beat Alja Tomljanivoc 6-3, 6-3 in less than 90 minutes in the morning start of the programme.
The Italian who earned the Rome title this month, also won the Olympic doubles gold medal on the court nine months ago.
And memories are still fresh for the fourth seed: “It’s a different feeling for me than last year. “I’m getting more and more used to this court.
“I have great memories and I feel more confident here.”
The match was played with the roof closed amid fears afternoon rain.
“It makes different conditions,” Paolini said. “The ball bounces less, but it’s nice to play with the roof.
‘I’m just going match by match, so let’s see if I can play good in the next one.”
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen stayed in her comfort zone at the venue where she won gold last summer, with the Chinese eighth seed defeating Colombian Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3 to advance.
Zheng was quick to congratulate herself for the win which put her into the third round to next line up against Canadian teenaged qualifier Victoria Mboko, who beat German Eva Lys 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m really happy with my performance today,” 2024 Paris runner-up Zheng said. “And I’m really happy with my game once again.
“I want to say thanks to my team and thank to myself for having a great performance here”
Amanda Anisimova advanced past Viktorija Golubic with a quick 6-0,6-2 result in 55 minutes, with the Swiss loser producing less than half (10) of the unforced errors (22) of the US winner.
Elina Svitolina continued to fly the flag for Ukraine with her 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over Hungarian Anna Bondar. Dane Clara Tauson beat Arantxa Rus 7-6 (2), 7-5.
“It was tough conditions with the wind, the rain, with the suspension of the match at the beginning of the first set,” Svitolina said.
“It was generally a good match.. and I’m really happy with the two-sets win.”
