Sabalenka roars into 2nd round; Tsitsipas triumphs, Muchova knocks out Sakkari

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka took her time to get going but powered into the second round of the French Open with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in a feisty clash to begin the year's second Grand Slam on Sunday.

Sabalenka appeared to be in a spot of bother on serve early on and fell behind 2-3, but the unseeded Kostyuk could not build on her advantage and the Australian Open champion struck back immediately with a powerful crosscourt volley on breakpoint.

Second seed Sabalenka wrapped up the first set in style in front of a sparse Court Philippe Chatrier crowd before pouncing in the next with an early break and another to go up 4-1, as Kostyuk wilted under the Paris sun.

The Belarusian raised her level again late in the match to save two breakpoints and close out the victory in 71 minutes.

The second seed will next face qualifier Iryna Shymanovich, who celebrated her Grand Slam main-draw debut with a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1 win over Panna Udvardy.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was made to work hard for more than three hours to book his spot in the French Open second round with a 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7) win over Czech Jiri Vesely.

The Greek, runner-up in Paris in 2021, did not expect the kind of resistance offered by a player ranked 445th in the world following a lengthy injury absence, and had to save four set points in the fourth to avoid a decider.

Tsitsipas was broken in his second service game and found himself 5-3 down against Vesely, playing in his first tour-level tournament since last year's U.S. Open.

But he broke the 29-year-old twice in a row to clinch the next four games and close out the first set.

Tsitsipas had initially struggled with the tall left-hander's awkward spin but was now stretching his opponent with deep cross-court forehands, bagging the second set with another break.

The world number five, chasing his Grand Slam title, thought he had hit his stride, comfortably holding serve in the third but Vesely, who has played in only two Challengers since returning last month, doggedly refused to budge.

He snatched the third set on his first opportunity with frustrated Tsitsipas sinking an easy forehand into the net on set point before the pair traded early breaks in the fourth.

There were no signs of rustiness for Vesely and the Czech kept up the pressure to earn four set points in the tiebreak.

He could not convert them, however, allowing Tsitsipas to clinch victory on his first match point with another sizzling crosscourt forehand winner after three hours and 13 minutes.

Unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic caused the first upset in the women's singles draw by beating eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece in the first round. Muchova, who edged past the No.8 seed for a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory on a sunny afternoon in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

China's Zhang Shuai is yet to claim a singles victory on clay this season, as the 34-year-old veteran suffered a third consecutive first-round exit after being knocked out by Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-1.

In other first round matches, Qinwen Zheng beat Tamara Zidanšek 6-3, 6-1, Anastasia Potapova beat Taylor Townsend 6-1, 6-2, Clara Tauson beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-0, Camila Giorgi beat Alizé Cornet 6-3, 6-4, Leylah Annie Fernandez beat Magda Linette 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, Elise Mertens beat Viktória Hruncákova 6-1, 6-4, Kamilla Rakhimova beat Sara Bejlek 6-0, 6-3, Storm Sanders beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, Nadia Podoroska beat Jessika Ponchet 6-0, 6-2.

In men’s section, Roberto Carballés Baena beat Emilio Nava 7-6, 6-3, 6-2, Matteo Arnaldi beat Daniel Elahi Galán 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2, Sebastian Korda beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, Nuno Borges beat John Isner 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (9), Jason Kubler beat Facundo Diaz Acosta 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, Márton Fucsovics beat Hugo Grenier 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Dan Evans 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, 11th seed Karen Khachanov beat Constant Lestienne 3-6, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz beat David Goffin 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Agencies

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