Sabalenka storms past Uchijima, soaring into French Open 3rd round
Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka during her Women's Singles second round match against Japan's Moyuka Uchijima during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros, Paris, France, May 30, 2024. (EPA Photo)


Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, secured a decisive victory over Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima with a score of 6-2, 6-2 under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Thursday, advancing to the third round of the French Open.

Despite it being her first time playing in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, Uchijima struggled to handle Sabalenka's dominant serve and groundstrokes.

Sabalenka won six points in a row at the start of the match, but once Uchijima had overcome her nerves, she settled down against the Belarusian.

Uchijima held her serve, but when she trailed 3-2, Sabalenka pounced on a break point with a fierce winner before taking the first set in 29 minutes.

The Japanese No. 1 wore a somber expression during the changeover before the second set, and she had no answer to the power of Sabalenka, who also played some telling drop shots.

Uchijima afforded herself a smile when she got the better of the Belarusian in a long rally to make it 4-2, but Sabalenka refocused to save a break point before breaking the Japanese player's serve to seal victory.