Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina stayed out of the rain and moved into the third round of the French Open on Thursday.
The second-seeded Sabalenka beat Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima 6-2, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier as showers again affected play at Roland Garros. No. 4 Rybakina advanced by beating Arantxa Rus 6-3, 6-4.
The inclement weather, which is expected to last for much of the day, halted play on all courts not equipped with a roof for the third consecutive day.
“It’s going to be a bit tricky today. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said.
Sabalenka, who reached the French Open semifinals last year and has not dropped a set in a Grand Slam this year, will next face Paula Badosa, a close friend and her doubles partner for this year’s clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
“It’s always tough to play your friend,” Sabalenka said, “but we know how to separate court and life.”
Uchijima, playing in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, could not cope with Sabalenka’s powerful serve and groundstrokes. Sabalenka won six points in a row at the start of the match and pounced on a break point with a fierce winner before taking the first set in 29 minutes.
Wearing a somber expression during the changeover before the second set, Uchijima had no answer to the power of Sabalenka, who also showcased her variety by approaching the net and playing some telling drop shots.
Uchijima afforded herself a smile when she got the better of the Belarusian on a long rally to make it 4-2, but Sabalenka refocused to save a break point before breaking the Japanese player’s serve to seal the victory.
“It was definitely fun playing all those drop shots. Super happy with the result, and I really enjoyed playing today,” Sabalenka said.
Rybakina got off to a sluggish start with an early double fault but held in the opening game against Rus. She then fired off three consecutive aces from 15-30 down for a 3-2 lead and sealed a break to take the opening set in 35 minutes.
There was little to separate the duo early in the second set before the lanky Rus took advantage of mistakes by her opponent to break for a 4-2 lead, only to surrender two straight breaks of serve.
“No one wants to play three sets … so I was trying to focus point by point and push myself,” said Rybakina, who will next face Petra Martic or Elise Mertens. “Energy-wise I wasn’t that happy today with myself.”
Sabalenka said she was fortunate to be among the top seeds, which guarantees matches under the roof if required.
“That’s the little advantage we get as top players because we play in the big stadiums with the roof. So I knew that no matter what the weather is going to be, I’m going to play my match. That’s really helpful,” Sabalenka said. “It helps to manage the energy because it’s really tough when the weather is like that and you play on the outside courts. It just feels like you’re wasting your energy during the day going on and off the court. That’s really tough.”
Fifth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova beat Katie Volynets 0-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round, while former French semifinalist and 14th-seeded American Madison Keys beat Mayar Sherif 6-0, 7-6 (7) and No. 15 Elina Svitolina beat Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
