Sawt Falasteen - Sabalenka steamrolls into French Open third round

The three-time Grand Slam winner has dropped just five games at Roland Garros so far this year as she bids to reach the final in Paris for the first time.

Sabalenka conceded a surprise early break of serve in the third game but quickly rallied to win the opener.

The Belarusian then stormed into a 4-0 lead in the second set as she proved too powerful on Court Suzanne Lenglen for her Swiss opponent.

"She started really well, and I'm really super happy that when I was down 1-3 (in the frist set) I held my serve," Sabalenka said.

"And I think after that game I kind of like felt a bit stronger and I found my rhythm and I came back in the match and won.

"It was tricky. She's a tricky opponent. Very great tennis, and super happy to get through."

Despite the one-sided scoreline, Sabalenka said it was not as easy on court as it might have seemed.

"I think she started really well, you know, like the rhythm was off. I couldn't really adjust to the ball. I didn't have my rhythm. I didn't really serve well. I mean, honestly, like, nothing worked well for me," she said.

"And that's what I said, like, I'm really glad that I was able to kind of like step in and hold my serve.

"You know, the scoreboard looks really easy, but it wasn't. She's tricky. She makes you work for every point and with a lot of running."

Sabalenka will face Olga Danilovic in the next round, after the 34th-ranked Serb fought past former world number seven Danielle Collins in three sets.

The pair have only ever met once before, with Sabalenka emerging victorious in straight sets in the Madrid Open qualifiers in 2018.

But the now 27-year-old three-time Madrid champion insisted that eight years later the slate between her and Danilovic was blank.

"We played long time ago. Was what, 2018, they told me on court. I wouldn't even watch that match, because we are completely different players," Sabalenka said.

"Today both of us improved a lot, and she has been through injuries and she's coming back. I saw her matches in Madrid this year, a little bit in Rome, and I can say that, yeah, she's playing great tennis. So am I.

"I'm really excited to play that match. It's going to be a fight."

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST