TENNIS – WORLD number one Aryna Sabalenka blazed through her opening round at the French Open as she brushed aside Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4 6-2 yesterday.
Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff recovered from a slow start to power past fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0 as her title defence began in style.
World number one Jannik Sinner launched his bid for a maiden French Open title in dominant fashion, as the Italian brushed aside French wildcard Clement Tabur 6-1 6-3 6-4 to reach the second round.
The Italian, the overwhelming favourite for the title in the absence of injured two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, was all business on Court Philippe-Chatrier’s night session, suffocating Tabur with relentless depth and pace from the baseline.
Daniil Medvedev could not avoid the French Open first-round trapdoor as he fell 6-2 1-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 to Australian wildcard Adam Walton in a match marked by sharp swings in momentum on the Parisian clay.
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka turned heads with another sparkling Grand Slam fashion statement and the former world number one matched it with striking tennis to dismantle unseeded German Laura Siegemund 6-3 7-6(3).
Sabalenka raced to a 4-0 lead on a sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier before unforced errors crept into her game, which allowed her opponent to pull two breaks back and serve for 5-5.
A double fault, however, handed the top-seeded Belarusian the first set and she opened up a 5-0 advantage in the second.
Bouzas Maneiro got to survive another couple of games when she held and then broke for 5-2 but a double fault gave Sabalenka a routine win.
“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game that I can come to the net to play points there, it’s so much fun,” last year’s runner-up Sabalenka said.
“I’m so happy I was able to improve on that part of the game and bring it on court.”
On a baking Court Philippe-Chatrier, Gauff struggled to find her range early on and was a point away from slipping two breaks of serve behind against her compatriot.
But the fourth seed quickly recovered her poise to take control and move safely through to the second round.
Gauff double-faulted on set point at 5-3 in the opener but broke the Townsend serve in the next game to move ahead.
After that it was one-way traffic as she raced to victory.
“I have so many great memories on this court,” Gauff, who beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final last year, said.
“I was a little nervous going out today, that showed a bit, but I was able to find my calm.”
The former world number one Medvedev had fallen at the first hurdle in six of his previous nine appearances at the claycourt Grand Slam, highlighting his uneasy relationship with Roland Garros and the sport’s slowest surface.
“It’s huge,” Walton said of the victory in his on-court interview, adding that a win over Medvedev in Cincinnati last year had given him the confidence to repeat the feat.
“I knew I could do it and I believed, so I’m just happy with my performance.I’m really excited right now.”
Medvedev showed early signs of frustration when he dropped serve and then allowed Walton to build a 4-2 lead in the opening set, which the 30-year-old relinquished with a forehand that sailed over the baseline.
The recovery was swift and emphatic as Medvedev regained his rhythm to wrest control by claiming the next set for the loss of only one game, but the sixth seed could not maintain his grip and let the third set slip away.
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