Aryna Sabalenka qualified for the second round at Roland Garros on Sunday without any problems. The winner of the Australian Open settled in a spicy encounter with Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine: 6-3 and 6-2.
Since the Russian invasion last February, Kostyuk has refused to shake hands with her opponents from Russia and Belarus, Russia’s ally in the war. She did not do that on Sunday with Sabalenka, who showed understanding for this in the run-up to the first round match.
Sabalenka proved much too strong for Kostyuk. The number 39 in the world simply could not participate in most rallies and certainly recorded many dropouts in the second set.
Second-seeded Sabalenka will meet her compatriot Iryna Shymanovich (WTA-214) or Hungary’s Panna Udvardy (WTA-97) in the second round. Sabalenka never got further than the third round at Roland Garros.
World ranking leader Iga Swiatek is Sabalenka’s biggest competitor on paper. The Polish won Roland Garros for the second time last year.
Arantxa Rus is the only Dutch player in the women’s tournament in Paris. The number 113 in the world will meet Austrian Julia Grabher (WTA-74) in the first round on Tuesday.
2023-05-28 10:22:51
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