Early on Monday, defending champion Iga Swiatek kicked off her Roland Garros title defence with a statement win over French qualifier Léolia Jeanjean, and was joined in round 2 by high seeds Coco Gauff, Marketa Vondrousova, Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins.
The 22-year-old Pole broke in the very first game of the match, her returns pinning Jeanjean back and crushing a forehand return to glance the left tramline, signaling her intent. Break point down at 3-1, Swiatek launched left and swatted a winner to reassert her dominance. The Pole converted all 3 break chances to sweep the opening set in 30 minutes flat.
Jeanjean gave the Chatrier crowd something to cheer at the start of the second set, though, when the Frenchwoman chalked up an immediate break, but Swiatek, unrattled, simply recalibrated and regained the initiative, reversing a 30-0 deficit in the following game to break back. She won 10 straight points to put herself a game from the finish line.
While Swiatek’s 26 winners and 18 unforced errors may not have been the cleanest for the ultimate perfectionist, the Pole maintains her winning streak in Paris off the back of collecting the WTA 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome.
“It feels like home here,” she said. “For sure, these last tournaments gave me a lot. I managed to play good tennis in any conditions, in any circumstances, I’m really proud of myself.
The top seed has been making adjustments to her serve to enhance her delivery in the hope of creating more pop on the ball, and better placement. “Next goal is to keep my serve at a consistent level throughout the whole season,” she said during Roland-Garros Media Day.
Swiatek landed 73% per cent of first serves and won 78% per cent of those points, but her second serve offered Jeanjean a means of attack, with the Pole only claiming 50% of those.
In the opening match on Chatrier, Ons Jabeur, the No 8 seed from Tunisia, kicked off her campaign with a solid 6-3 6-2 defeat of American wild-card Sachia Vickery in an hour and 21 minutes under the closed roof.
Americans Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins both won their 1st-round matches in straight sets on a rainy Monday in Paris over Julia Avdeeva and Caroline Dolehide, respectively. On a rainy Paris day, Gauff, the No 3 seed and 2022 runner-up, breezed past Avdeeva, 6-1 6-3 in 53 minutes, while Collins defeated countrywoman Caroline Dolehide, 6-3 6-4.
