Roland Garros Women’s Day 5

Aryna Sabalenka mowed down Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-2 in barely an hour to reach the French Open third round as rain again interrupted play.

The second seed and double Australian Open winner was unaffected, though, with her match safely staged under the roof of the Chatrier showcourt.

But a third straight day of rain drove other matches off court more than once during the afternoon as officials played catch-up with the badly disrupted schedule..  

Sabalenka broke four times and advanced with 27 winners and 18 unforced errors, saving a pair of break points as she schooled her 83rd-ranked opponent.

Uchijima has been on a tear at entry-level non-Tour events this spring, winning 20 matches until running into Sabalenka. , 

The seed said that being guaranteed a match on a covered court is a major perk.

“That’s the little advantage we get as top players because we play on the big stadiums with the roof; I knew that no matter the weather. I’m going to play my match. 

“It helps to manage the energy because it’s really tough when the weather is like that and you play on the outside courts. 

“It just feels like you’re wasting your energy during the day going on and off the court.”

Sabalenka – into the Paris third round for a fifth consecutive edition – will next face good friend and former WTA No.2 Paula Badosa, who has been trying to resurrect her career amid a months-long battle with back pain.

The Spaniard defeated Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, winning a match in which she stood two points from defeat.

But Putintseva let her off the hook with a pair of double faults and a forehand error to lose the 11th game of the final set. Badosa then served out the win to love.

“Sharing the court with (Aryna) after all the results she’s doing is a pleasure for me, because this past year hasn’t been easy,” Badosa said. 

“Playing these kinds of matches, it makes it all worth it,” added the Spaniard who stands 2-4 against her friend.

Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina had to work her way out of second-set trouble on the way to a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Arantza Rus.

The Kazakh fourth seed fought back from 4-2 down in the second set after winning the first to move on in the draw after her 67-minutes victory in which she swept the final four games.

“I had to push myself today, there were a lot of ups and downs,” she said. 

“In a lot of games I trailed 0-40 and that’s not so usual for me.

“No one wants to play three sets, so when I was down I was trying to focus point-by-point.

“Energy-wise today I was not so happy with myself.”

There was also a win under the roof for 15th seed Elina Svitolina, who held off a late charge from Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-4, 7-6 (3).

The Ukrainian held a comfortable 4-1 lead which the local erased, breaking Svitolina as she served for the win.

Instead, the seed with four quarter-finals here had to close out victory with a tiebreaker after nearly two hours.

“It was not easy to play against a French player and a French crowd,” Svitolina said. “I was happy that I could finish the match in two sets.

“More people began to arrive and I felt I had to really step up my game.”

Anastasia Potapova eliminated the last Swiss in the field with her 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Viktorija Golubic while Croat Donna Vekic defeated 18th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4. 

Main photo:- Aryna Sabalenka winning second round match – by WTATennis.com