Aryna Sabalenka swept through to the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over qualifier Moyuka Uchijima on Thursday. (Full Coverage | Tennis News)
It only took 62 minutes for Sabalenka to secure a 6-2 6-2 win, with the second seed not being broken throughout the contest.
Rival Iga Swiatek had to come through a bruising battle against Naomi Osaka to reach the last 32 a day earlier, but there were no such complications for dominant Sabalenka against a Japanese opponent as she raced to victory.
She broke Uchijima twice in each set and racked up 27 winners in the match, coming out on top in 11 of her 14 points at the net.
The match was level at 2-2 until Sabalenka won four straight games to clinch the first set, not offering up a single break-point opportunity to Uchijima in the opener. She then had few issues closing it out in the second.
Data Debrief: Swiatek and Sabalenka set the standard
Sabalenka (60 wins) has now become only the second player to achieve 60 or more women's singles match wins at grand slam events since the start of the 2020 season, only trailing Swiatek, who has 67.
This win means she has made it to the third round at Roland Garros for five straight editions. Sabalenka is hoping to better her semi-final berth from last season, having made the final at the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome – losing to Swiatek each time – ahead of her campaign in Paris.
Sabalenka will next face former world number two Paula Badosa in a marquee third-round clash. The Spanish player progressed after battling back from a set down to defeat Yulia Putintseva 4-6 6-1 7-5.
