Roland-Garros 2023: Sabalenka and Rybakina breeze past first-round opponents

Sabalenka impresses in routine victory

Aryna Sabalenka, the sixth seed, made a strong start to her Roland-Garros campaign with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory over qualifier Chloe Paquet on Monday. The Belarusian, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open earlier this year, was in dominant form throughout, breaking her opponent's serve five times and hitting 22 winners.

Rybakina also makes light work of first-round match

Elena Rybakina, the 10th seed, was equally impressive in her first-round match, defeating qualifier Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-3. The Kazakhstani, who won the Wimbledon title last year, hit 17 winners and broke Marino's serve three times.

Both players will be hoping to make a deep run in the tournament

Both Sabalenka and Rybakina will be hoping to make a deep run in the tournament. Sabalenka, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title, will be looking to improve on her best performance at Roland-Garros, which was a quarter-final appearance in 2021. Rybakina, meanwhile, will be aiming to reach the final of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career.

They will face tougher tests in the next round

Sabalenka will face either Beatriz Haddad Maia or Anastasia Potapova in the second round, while Rybakina will take on either Petra Kvitova or Clara Burel. Both matches are likely to be closer than their first-round encounters, but Sabalenka and Rybakina will be confident of progressing to the third round.