Aryna Sabalenka's quest for a second consecutive Grand Slam title began with an easy straight-sets victory over Russian teenager Erika Andreeva as the weather once again wreaked havoc at the French Open on Tuesday.
By late afternoon on Day 3, only four of the scheduled 40 first-round ties had been completed as players and tournament organisers navigated a frustrating five-hour rain delay.
The chaos did not affect world No 2 Sabalenka, though, who powered through her opening set in just 26 minutes under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It took a little bit longer for the reigning Australian Open champion – who went into the Paris clay-court tournament on the back of defeats against Iga Swiatek in both the Madrid and Rome finals – to see out the second set with Sabalenka sealing a 6-1, 6-2 win after 68 minutes of action.
Sabalenka fired 27 winners past the 100th-ranked Andreeva and broke serve five times in a dominant display and goes on to face Irene Burillo Escorihuela of Spain or Japan's Moyuka Uchijima.
The Belarusian has made at least the semi-finals at her past six Grand Slams and is again expected to be world No 1 Swiatek's toughest rival in the Pole's bid for a fourth French Open title.
“I'm trying to do well on clay, it is tough conditions here but I enjoy playing here and I'm just trying to bring my best tennis every time – whatever the surface,” said Sabalenka, whose last first-round Grand Slam defeat came against Carla Suarez Navarro at the 2020 Australian Open. “Against someone like Erika Andreeva, she plays a smart game, I had to play a bit differently.”
World No 4 Elena Rybakina's second-round spot is also in the bag following a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgium's Greet Minnen.
The Kazakhstani showed no sign of the recent illness which meant she was unable to defend her Italian Open title, even recovering from a fast start from Minnen who broke Rybakina in the opening game.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion quickly settled down to take the next 10 games, with Rybakina's forehand dominating while also successfully deploying drop shots to dominate her opponent who is ranked 85 in the world.
The roof was in use again on Court Suzanne Lenglen but Rybakina was relatively untroubled by the conditions, even in a second set that saw her drop serve twice.
“Of course, the ball is a little bit heavier and you need to move better and it's different, but that's tennis and you need to adjust with this rainy weather,” she said.
Rybakina is the only player to beat world No 1 Swiatek on clay this year after her victory over the Pole on her way to the title in Stuttgart in April.
Elsewhere, Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands defeated Germany's former world No 1 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3.
And Zheng Qinwen showed no mercy to home favourite Alize Cornet in what was her farewell tournament as the seventh seed powered to a 6-2, 6-1 win in 83 minutes.
The 34-year-old Cornet, holder of the Open era women's record for consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances (69), had previously announced that she would bring the curtain down on her career after the tournament.
Cornet will still compete in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events before she walks away from the sport after almost 20 years as a professional.
“I was already in tears after Rafa Nadal’s match [on Monday]. I’m in more tears now,” said Cornet, who won six WTA Tour singles titles. “Lots of emotions. I’ve been preparing myself for weeks for this moment but you’re never really ready when you have to say goodbye.
“I gave everything to tennis. I was just really lucky to have the life I’ve had. It took a lot of efforts and sacrifices and questioning yourself. There were lot of ups and downs. But what an adventure.”
Next up for Australian Open runner-up Zheng will be either American Ashlyn Krueger or Germany's Tamara Korpatsch.
