Aryna Sabalenka faced tough competition from her compatriot Aryna Shimanovich before winning 7-5, 6-2, advancing to the third round of the French Open and keeping her hopes alive to claim the top spot in the WTA rankings. However, the task was not easy for Sabalenka against the qualifier Shimanovich, who delivered a strong performance.
Shimanovich started moving her opponent around and forced her to come to the net with bold drop shots in an attempt to prevent Sabalenka from dictating the pace of the match. The second seed squandered two set points in the 12th game but secured the set on her third opportunity after successfully handling another drop shot from Shimanovich.
Sabalenka took a two-game lead at the start of the second set, but she had to fight fiercely for every point before sealing the match on her second opportunity.
