Iga Swiatek handed herself an early 22nd birthday present on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-0 beatdown of Spain’s Cristina Busca to begin her French Open title defence in solid form.
The world No. 1 could become the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend a Roland Garros title.
Swiatek came into the second major of the season with doubts on her fitness after skipping Rome to recover,
But the Pole silenced the doubters in 75 minutes.
Swiatek has won three of the past 11 Grand Slams as she takes a tighter grip on overall long-term superiority.
The three-time champion at the majors owns a 29-6 record this season; she has won 19 of her past 20 matches here.
““For sure first rounds are tricky, especially the first set,” she said. “I don’t remember playing in such windy conditions here, maybe three years ago.
“I needed to adjust to that and work on my footwork.
“But I’m happy that I broke through it, and I was able to play better in the second set.”
Fourth-seeded Rome champion Elena Rybakina quickly dispatched 16-year-old Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-2 as the youngster played in only her second main draw at a major.
2022 runner-up Coco Gauff needed a comeback to move safely through in her opener, defeating Spain’s Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The American sixth seed eventually triumphed in a re-run of January’s Auckland final, which she also won.
Gauff now stands 13-2 in Grand Slam first-round matches.
Double Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, ranked 65th.
The seventh-seeded Tunisian winner won her 25th match on clay over the past two seasons, standing just behind Iga Swiatek in that statistical category.
“It wasn’t an easy round, for sure, but I tried my best to win in two sets,” Jabeur said.
“Obviously I’m trying to get back to my level 100 per cent (after injury); I think that will come match by match and by playing more matches.
“Every first round is very difficult in a Grand Slam.
“I was pretty stressed, I’ve got to say, but I was just trying to play my game. The most important thing for me was to feel healthy and to move well on the court.”
Rome finalist Anhelina Kalinina ran out of luck in Paris as the Ukrainian lost 6-2, 6-3 to French wild card Diane Perry.
Kalinina, the tournament No. 25, was seeded for the second time at a major.
Perry, ranked 79, earned an upset here a year ago when she beat holder Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.
The Czech who won the 2021 trophy suffered a first round exit here for the second straight edition as she was ousted 6-2, 6-4 by Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
The seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion went down in 89 minutes with 32 unforced errors – more than twice as many as her opponent.
Teenaged Mirra Andreeva schooled a veteran twice her age in her career Grand Slam debut. defeating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6- 1 in less than an hour.
The youngster who qualified into the Paris field after reaching the Madrid fourth round is taking each match on its own, leaving the big-picture planning to her coaches.
“It feels amazing for me. I’m really excited that I managed to win this match after
passing the qualies draw.
“Of course, I’m really happy and I’m looking forward to playing the next round,” said the player who has not lost a set so far in four matches here.
“Last year I was here as a junior, I couldn’t even imagine that I can be here playing the women’s tournament here and being in a major after passing qualification.”
Main photo:- Iga Swiatek wins first round match by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
