French Open: Sabalenka starts strong, beats Kostyuk to enter second round

Paris, May 28 No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka passed her French Open opening test with flying colours, defeating Ukrainian world No.39 Marta Kostyuk, 6-3, 6-2 to move into the second round, here on Sunday.

The win extends Sabalenka's 2023 win-loss record to 30-5. She has reached at least the quarterfinals at seven of the eight tournaments she has contested before Roland Garros, and the final at five of them.

The 25-year-old will next take the winner of the match between Panna Udvardy and Iryna Shymanovich.

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 title in Madrid three weeks ago.

The Australian Open champion has the opportunity of unseating Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings this fortnight.

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