World number one Aryna Sabalenka blazed through her opening round at the French Open as she brushed aside Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4 6-2 on Tuesday.
Sabalenka raced to a 4-0 lead on a sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier before unforced errors crept into her game, which allowed her opponent to pull two breaks back and serve for 5-5.
A double fault, however, handed the top-seeded Belarusian the first set and she opened up a 5-0 advantage in the second.
Bouzas Maneiro got to survive another couple of games when she held and then broke for 5-2 but a double fault gave Sabalenka a routine win.
“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game that I can come to the net to play points there, it’s so much fun,” last year’s runner-up Sabalenka said.
“I’m so happy I was able to improve on that part of the game and bring it on court.”
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