Sabalenka Soars as World No.2 breezes past older sister of Russian prodigy, Erika Andreeva at Roland Garros
WTATuesday, 28 May 2024 at 17:33
Aryna Sabalenka usually is at her rampant best during the opening rounds of Grand Slams and she proved it again today as she took down Erika Andreeva with consummate ease 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round at the 2024 French Open.
Sabalenka won in just over an hour with the first set in particular seeing the World No.2 at her best. After a back and forth start to the set, she broke to make it 3-1 and was barely moved after that. In particular on her own serve she was barely giving points away and took the first set after 26 minute 6-1 after having three set points prior.
Andreeva lost her serve to begin the second set and looked to have some encouragement after breaking straight back. But this was soon extinguished. The older sister of Mirra Andreeva who begins her campaign shortly was broken straight back and Sabalenka kept building towards the finishing line.
She did survive a break point at 3-2 up, but turned it around to make it 4-2 and then flipped the script again by breaking before holding to seal the win. Sabalenka usually has a theme of easily beating lesser ranked players and those who are rising and almost teaching them a lesson. She did that with Andreeva who is ranked just inside the world's top 100.
After two excellent weeks in Rome and Madrid albeit losing in both finals, Sabalenka has continued her run into the latest Grand Slam. Elsewhere, Petra Martic won soon after Sabalenka defeating Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4.
Elina Avanesyan who made her breakout at last year's tournament saw off Lin Zhu 6-2, 6-4 to reach the second round, whilst Peyton Stearns spurned match point and looks to be going into a final set against Lucija Ciric Bagaric. Arantxa Rus too is on the verge of knocking out Angelique Kerber. A tie against Elena Rybakina awaits the winner of that tie. But the rain also seems to be falling again which could spell havoc with most of the games already today starting late due to the conditions.
Madison Keys, Emma Navarro, Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Azarenka are all still to come in the WTA side of the draw on Tuesday and it will likely be a late finish.
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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