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Top seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her strong start to the French Open with a confident win against Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann to reach the third round.
The Belarusian lost just one game in her Paris opener against Kamilla Rakhimova, but she surprisingly dropped serve early on against Teichmann.
However, the three-time major winner composed herself and recovered well from her sluggish start, winning five games in a row to grab the first set.
Sabalenka continued her charge in the second set with 17 winners to Teichmann’s two, and she wrapped up a 6-3 6-1 win after 79 minutes.
“It doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says, she really made me work for every point. I’m really happy with this win,” Sabalenka said afterwards.
“It’s always a tough match against her, she is a very tricky opponent with great tennis.”
Sabalenka, one of the pre-tournament favourites, will face world number 34 Olga Danilovic after the Serb beat American Danielle Collins 6-4 3-6 6-4.
Paolini sweeps through to third round
Earlier on Wednesday, last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini moved past Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic with a routine 6-3 6-3 victory.
Fresh from from lifting a WTA 1,000 title in Rome earlier this month, the victory was Paolini’s eighth in a row.
The Italian enjoyed a memorable 2024 season, soaring up the WTA rankings after reaching the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, while she also won Olympic gold in the women’s doubles in Paris with compatriot Sara Errani.
Asked if she felt calmer playing on Court Philippe Chatrier this year, Paolini replied: “It’s a different feel I guess because last year I played a few matches here, and then again at the Olympics, so I am a bit more used to this court. Before, I had never played here.
“I like this court, I have great memories here and it is great to be back in Paris in front of this crowd.”
Paolini will face Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva next.
Mboko, 18, continues dream debut run
Teenager Victoria Mboko reached round three on her Grand Slam debut by easing to a 6-4 6-4 win over German world number 58 Eva Lys.
The 18-year-old from Canada came through qualifying without dropping a set, and will next face Olympic champion and eighth seed Zheng Qinwen of China, who earlier beat Colombian Emiliana Arango 6-2 6-3.
Ranked 333rd at the start of the year, this was Mboko’s 39th win of the season and moves her into the world’s top 100.
“I feel really happy right now, of course there is so much happening, even behind the scenes,” said the former Wimbledon juniors semi-finalist.
“But I feel like my family has been doing a good job of keeping me really isolated from it all.”
Meanwhile, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia battled back to win 5-7 6-3 6-3 against American Caroline Dolehide.
Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina defeated Hungarian Anna Bondar 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 but Croatia’s 18th seed Donna Vekic, who won Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, was beaten 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-3) by American world number 83 Bernarda Pera.
In the women’s doubles, Britain’s Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal fought back from a set down to win 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-3 against China’s Guo Hanyu and Japan’s Ena Shibahara in a rain-disrupted first-round match.
But Briton Harriet Dart and Australian partner Kimberly Birrell were beaten 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-2 by Romanian-Belgian duo Irina-Camelia Begu and Yanina Wickmayer.