French Open: Novak Djokovic, Zverev, Medvedev advance; Sabalenka eases past Uchijima

PARIS: Defending champion Novak Djokovic was very briefly made to work hard by unseeded Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena before sealing a routine 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory and motoring into the French Open third round on Thursday.

Djokovic has been some way from his convincing best in an erratic season where he is bidding to win a record 25th Grand Slam title and the top-seeded Serbian was dragged into a battle by Carballes Baena after recovering an early break.

Having nosed ahead on serve in the ninth game, the 37-year-old Djokovic set up break point with a big overhead smash after a 24-shot rally and pounced to take the first set as spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier sensed a return to a more familiar level.

Djokovic moved up a few notches in the next set for a 4-0 lead before his 31-year-old opponent even got on the board and the three-times Roland Garros champion tightened his vice-like grip on the contest in double quick time.

The pair's previous two encounters were both at hardcourt majors but the outcome was no different on Parisian clay as Djokovic sauntered ahead 5-1 in the third set and wrapped up the victory.

World number four Alexander Zverev reached the French Open third round with a 7-6 (4) 6-2 6-2 victory over experienced Belgian David Goffin.

The German, who ousted 14-times champion Rafael Nadal in the opening round, had to work hard to win the first-set tiebreak but broke early in the second.

Former quarter-finalist Goffin nearly broke Zverev's serve in the fourth game but the German held firm, mixing up his game well to close out the match.

"I was happy that I ran away with it but also happy that I played well," said Zverev, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 2022 French Open semi-finals.

Zverev will next face Italian Luciano Darderi or Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Daniil Medvedev cantered into the third round when his Serbian opponent, Miomir Kecmanovic, retired due to injury on Thursday.

World number 57 Kecmanovic called on the trainer when he was trailing 6-1 5-0 on court Suzanne Lenglen on another humid, grey day in Paris.

Russian fifth seed Medvedev, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, will next face either Argentina’s Mariano Navone or Czech Tomas Machac.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka and No.4 seed Elena Rybakina navigated second-round hurdles in straight sets on Thursday. Sabalenka needed just 62 minutes to defeat qualifier Moyuka Uchijima 6-2, 6-2, and Rybakina came from 4-2 down in the second set to beat Arantxa Rus 6-3, 6-4 in 67 minutes. Sabalenka and Rybakina joined the top seed Iga Swiatek, Ons Jaberu, and Coco Gauff.

The focus was on the match between Sabalenka and Uchijima. A day after Naomi Osaka, currently the fourth-highest ranked Japanese player, came within a point of taking out No.1 seed Swiatek, it was Japanese No.1 Uchijima's turn for the upset bid.

The World No.83 had come into the match on an eye-catching 19-match winning streak, having won three consecutive ITF titles across two surfaces and continents before successfully qualifying in Paris.

However, Sabalenka demonstrated that for all of Uchijima's form, the gulf between the levels the two players have been operating at was still significant. The two-time Australian Open champion captured the first break of the match for 3-2 with some booming returns, she did not relinquish control.

Sabalenka was rarely troubled on serve -- she faced just four break points, all in the same game at 4-2 in the second set. All four were dealt with via emphatic service winners and one to two punches. She fired 27 winners to Uchijima's 10, repeatedly teed off on return, and deployed the drop shot as effectively as her powerful groundstrokes.

Sabalenka has now reached at least the third round of her past 14 Grand Slam appearances -- her last loss before this stage came to Victoria Azarenka in the 2020 US Open second round. She will next face Paula Badosa, who edged Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in a battle of two former French Open quarterfinalists. Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 4-2, including the last four encounters in a row.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina had to play at her best to get past a gritty Arantxa Rus in two sets. Rus has a Roland Garros upset under her belt. Back in 2011, the Dutchwoman ousted No.2 seed Kim Clijsters in the second round. At the age of 33, she's also playing some of her best tennis. Last summer, she captured her first WTA Tour title in Hamburg and as a result, made her Top 50 debut.

Rus's consistency from the back of the court, as well as some crowd-pleasing passing shots, made Rybakina work hard throughout the match. The Kazakhstani had to find her best serves to stave off two break points in the first half of the opening set; down 4-2 in the second, she came up with a pair of blistering backhands to retrieve the break immediately.

Rybakina could find another gear offensively that paid off. For all of Rus's power, the World No.50 opted for a consistent strategy, tallying 10 winners to just six unforced errors. But Rybakina took the risks off the ground and ended with a total of 28 winners to 20 unforced errors.

In other second round matches of the day, Liudmila Samsonova beat Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-1, Elina Svitolina beat Diane Parry 6-4, 7-6, Olga Danilovic beat 11th seed Danielle Collins 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, Wang Xinyu beat Viktoriya Tomova 7-5, 5-7, 6-1, Chloé Paquet beat Katerina Siniaková 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, Donna Vekic beat Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 6-4, Anastasia Potapova beat Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-2, Paula Badosa beat Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, DayanaYastremska beat Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-0, Madison Keys beat Mayar Sherif 6-0, 7-6.

In men’s section, Tallon Griekspoor beat Luciano Darderi 7-6, 6-3, 6-3, Denis Shapovalov beat Frances Tiafoe 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, Zizou Bergs beat Maximilian Marterer 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3, Felix Auger Aliassime beat Henri Squire 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 10th seed GrigorDimitrov beat Fábián Marozsán 6-0, 6-3, 6-4, 2nd seed Jannik Sinner beat Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, Pavel Kotov beat Stan Wawrinka 7-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 to reach the third round. Agencies

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