Azarenka continues impressive form with victory over Kovinic despite early walk off due to conditions, Sakkari also through with excellent win against Tomljanovic
WTASunday, 27 September 2020 at 13:11
Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sakkari are among the early winners on the opening day at Roland Garros despite the conditions blighting proceedings so far.
This was especially the case for Azarenka who became the first player to leave the court after complaining about the conditions. The former World No.1 came out and played in a jacket an within three games compared the weather to her home in Florida and left the court with her opponent Danka Kovinic.
When she returned though, she swept aside the Montenegrin who reached the Last 16 in Rome last week showing the return to form for the Belarusian in a 6-1, 6-2 victory. This included 79% on 1st serve and 86% on second serve.
She didn't allow her opponent a single opportunity at break point with Azarenka claiming 4/6 against the Kovinic serve.
Next up will be Venus Williams or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova who begin their tie shortly with another tie with the legendary American to be potentially set up.
For Sakkari who showed impressive form on the hard court but didn't play in Rome or any subsequent clay court warm-ups barring Palermo before the US Open, it was business as usual as she saw off Ajla Tomljanovic, her close friend and occasional doubles partner in straight sets.
She breezed through the first set 6-0 before recovering from a break down in the second to see off the Australian. The Greek has previously stated that clay is her favourite surface and so with this being the case and having a short break before Roland Garros, she could cause problems.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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