Sabalenka defeats Kostyuk in French Open first round

No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka got her Roland Garros campaign off to a winning start, coming from an early break down to defeat Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 11 minutes.

French Open Day 1: Scores | Order of play | Draw

Australian Open champion Sabalenka has the opportunity to capture the World No.1 ranking for the first time this fortnight. Roland Garros is the only major at which the 25-year-old has yet to go past the third round, but she bolstered her clay-court credentials with a second Madrid title three weeks ago.

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This result extends Sabalenka’s 2023 record to 30-5. She has reached at least the quarterfinals at seven of the eight tournaments she has contested prior to Roland Garros, and the final at five of them.

Sabalenka will next face qualifier Iryna Shymanovich, who celebrated her Grand Slam main-draw debut with a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1 win over Panna Udvardy.

Match moments: No.39-ranked Kostyuk made her presence felt from the off with ultra-aggressive tactics. The Ukrainian stood inside the baseline to return Sabalenka’s first serve, rushed the net straight off her returns and fired winners off both wings.

At 2-2, Kostyuk ended the longest rally of the match at that point with a clever drop shot and went on to capture the first break of serve, aided by a pair of Sabalenka double faults.

But the higher-ranked player responded immediately by upping the intensity herself. Sabalenka nailed a drive volley to break back immediately, and found a fierce forehand to stave off another break point in the subsequent game.

Indeed, from 3-2 down in the first set, Sabalenka powered through six straight games to reach 2-0 in the second. Another forehand winner secured a 4-1 double-break lead, and despite facing break points in her last two service games, Sabalenka fended them off to maintain that advantage.

In total, Sabalenka struck 19 winners to 21 unforced errors. Kostyuk tallied 20 unforced errors but only 11 winners.

In Sabalenka’s words: “It was emotionally tough match, and I’m super happy that I get this win. In the first games, things didn’t work well for me, but I’m happy that I was able to get through this match. 

“It was tough first round, and especially after such tough loss in Rome. I mean, I know I was exhausted, but still this match is in your head. Emotionally, I was a little bit nervous at the beginning. 

“I was just trying to keep fighting, keep finding my rhythm, keep adjusting to the court. Point by point I start building my game. I start playing better and with more rhythm, was able to go for my shots without a lot of mistakes.”