French Open: Sabalenka, Svitolina, Zheng cruise into second spherical | Tennis Information – Occasions of India

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka started her French Open marketing campaign with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Sunday. The Belarusian wanted simply an hour to guide her place within the second spherical at Roland Garros. Sabalenka, who’s aiming for her first title in Paris, struck 30 winners and broke her opponent 5 occasions. With defending champion Iga Swiatek struggling for type, Sabalenka has emerged as one of many favourites for the title. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old admitted she was “confused” by the totally different line-calling techniques being utilized in tennis. “Actually, I’m so confused. I don’t know which I want anymore,” mentioned Sabalenka, referring to her current experiences with each conventional line judges and digital calls. Roland Garros stays the one Grand Slam to nonetheless use line judges.

She is going to face both Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann or Italian qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini within the subsequent spherical. In different girls’s singles matches, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina breezed previous Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-1, 6-1 in simply over an hour. The thirteenth seed, a four-time quarter-finalist in Paris, was in full management from begin to end.Quiz: Who’s that IPL participant? China’s Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen additionally moved into the second spherical with a 6-4, 6-3 win over former finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The eighth seed will face both Alexandra Eala of the Philippines or Colombia’s Emiliana Arango subsequent. In the meantime, Roland Garros is making ready for an emotional tribute to Rafael Nadal, who shall be honoured in a particular ceremony on Sunday. The 14-time French Open champion retired final yr after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

Nadal, who holds a file 112-4 win-loss file on the event, will return to Court docket Philippe Chatrier one yr after his closing match in Paris. Former rivals Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are anticipated to attend the ceremony. Nadal’s 14 titles at a single Grand Slam stay unmatched in tennis historical past.