Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff cruise at Roland Garros
Top-seeded Iga Swiatek and No. 3 Coco Gauff won in straight sets to swiftly move into the second round of the French Open on Monday at Roland Garros.
Gauff dispatched Russian qualifier Julia Avdeeva 6-1, 6-1 in 52 minutes. Swiatek opened her quest for a third straight French Open title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean in 61 minutes.
Swiatek will face Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the second round.
“It feels like home here,” said Swiatek, in pursuit of her fourth title at Roland Garros overall. “I’m really happy to be back. Just feel like I can play really good tennis, so hopefully I’m going to be here as long as possible.”
Poland’s Swiatek earned her first French title in 2020. The last woman to win three straight in Paris was Justine Henin (2005-07).
Gauff, a finalist here in 2022, did not face a break point against Avdeeva.
“I never played her. She had a good run in the qualifying. I think I just came out playing well, and I would say I do think she was a little bit nervous with the bigger court, but I played well, too,” Gauff said. “Today was kind of a straightforward match. I didn’t have to do much. I wouldn’t say I, like, played amazing. I just had to play solid today. That’s what I did.”
Fifth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic made quick work of Rebeka Masarova of Spain 6-1, 6-3 to advance. No. 8 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia ousted Sachia Vickery 6-3, 6-2.
No. 12 Jasmine Paolini of Italy eliminated Australia’s Daria Saville 6-3, 6-4. No. 15 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine rallied from a set down to defeat Czech Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The evening slate in Paris was marked by a pair of high-ranking upsets. France’s Varvara Gracheva rallied to stun Greek sixth seed Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto pulled off a similar comeback to beat No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
In other action, No. 11 Danielle Collins was a straight-sets winner, as was No. 17 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and No. 31 Leylah Fernandez of Canada. Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, the No. 23 seed, also earned a straight sets win over France’s Clara Burel.
No. 20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, No. 27 Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, Bernarda Pera, Hailey Baptiste, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova, Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, Colombia’s Camila Osorio, Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, France’s Diane Parry and Romanians Irina-Camelia Begu and Ana Bogdan also advanced.
