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WOMEN'S DAY 2 WRAP: Swiatek, Gauff breeze into round two in Paris

tennis27 May 2024 22:38| © AFP
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Iga Swiatek © Getty Images

Iga Swiatek kicked off her bid for a fourth French Open title by dropping just three games in a trademark demolition of French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in the first round on Monday.

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The world No 1 raced to a 6-1, 6-2 victory after just 61 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a second-round meeting with fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

"I'm really happy to be back. Feel like I'm playing really good tennis so hoping to be here as long as possible," said Swiatek.

The 22-year-old Pole is aiming to become the first woman to win three straight Roland Garros titles since Justine Henin in 2007, and only the second ever after Serena Williams to win the Madrid, Rome and French Opens in the same year.

"These last tournaments give me a lot (of confidence)... But every tournament is a different story, a different chapter, so I'm just trying to focus on the next match," added Swiatek.

GAUFF INTO SECOND ROUND WITH 50TH GRAND SLAM WIN

Coco Gauff made a strong start in her bid to win a maiden French Open title as she eased past German world number 208 Julia Avdeeva 6-1 6-1 in the first round on a rainy Monday for her 50th Grand Slam match victory.

The 20-year-old Gauff, who won the US Open last year to break her Grand Slam duck after losing the 2022 final in Paris, needed less than an hour to advance, even though the match was briefly halted after Avdeeva accidentally bumped her head against the umpire's when she was contesting a point.

"Today was kind of a straightforward match. I didn't have to do much. I wouldn't say I played amazing. I just had to play solid today. That's what I did," Gauff told reporters.

Adveeda was making her Grand Slam debut in Paris and Gauff said she sensed her opponent's stress on the second showcourt.

"I do think she was a little bit nervous with the bigger court, but I played well too," Gauff said.

In the second round, world number three American Gauff will take on Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek who had reached the semifinals in the French Open in 2021and beat Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck 6-2 2-6 6-1 on Sunday.

"She's definitely a fighter. I think she has, you know, good ball tolerance, she can make a lot of balls in the court, pretty good mover. So it's going to be a tough match," Gauff said.

JABEUR CRUISES PAST WILDCARD VICKERY

Eighth seed Ons Jabeur began her latest attempt to win an elusive Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory over American wildcard Sachia Vickery in the first round.

In front of a thin crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, Tunisian Jabeur quickly racked up a 3-0 lead, but Vickery reduced the gap with a break of her own, only to hand the momentum back to the former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up.

Jabeur pulled out plenty of tricks to close out the opening set, even as the roof closed over the main showcourt due to rain, before taking control of the second set as Vickery struggled.

The 29-year-old American had prevailed in three sets in the pair's only previous meeting in Chicago six years ago, but there was no late comeback as 2023 quarterfinalist Jabeur clinically closed out the match on serve in 81 minutes.

SAKKARI KNOCKED OUT, SVITOLINA ADVANCES

Russian Varvara Gracheva, now representing France, produced a major upset as she came from a set down to beat sixth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Ukrainian 15th seed Elina Svitolina beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova 3-6 6-4 6-2, handing the 32-year-old Czech her second first-round exit from the French Open in a row.

VONDROUSOVA COMFORTABLY BEATS MASAROVA

Czech fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova made light work of Spain's Rebeka Masarova, winning 6-1 6-3 to reach the second round.

Vondrousova, current Wimbledon champion and French Open finalist in 2019, raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set, and although Masarova managed a break of serve in the second, it was too little too late.

HADDAD MAIA OUSTED

Brazil's 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia suffered a first-round exit to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, with the Italian twice breaking serve in the third set to claim a 3-6 6-4 6-1 comeback win against last year's semifinalist.

 

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