Sabalenka stamps her authority on Jacquemot

On an afternoon that saw top seed Jannik Sinner knocked out of the men’s singles draw, world No.1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka found herself in a nip-and-tuck opening set with Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.

Backed by a boisterous partisan crowd, Jacquemot was playing the tennis of her life, keeping pace with the four-time Grand Slam champion. She rallied from a break down, delighting the Chatrier faithful, then saved a set point to deadlock the set at 5-all.

That was Sabalenka’s cue to bear down and engage her superpowers.

The 28-year-old kicked it up a notch from there and reeled off five games on the trot as she powered to a 7-5, 6-2 victory to set a third-round clash with Daria Kasatkina.

“That was a tricky match from a tricky opponent,” Sabalenka said. “She played really incredible tennis, forced me to step in and play it on another level. I'm happy I could handle it and get the win.”

Sabalenka said on court that she relied on her self-belief and her physicality to clear the hurdle.

“I was just trying to remind myself that I'm really strong, and I can handle it, and that I have to work as fast as possible with my legs," she said. "Just accelerate the racquet, and try to put the balls back on that side, try to stay aggressive, and put as much pressure as I can on her.

“I'm super happy that I was able to raise the level in those really tight and key moments of the match.”

More to follow...

Click here to read article