Jasmine Paolini continued her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open by beating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets.
The Italian fourth seed powered her way to a 6-3, 6-3, victory on Court Philippe Chatrier. Paolini dictated proceedings with the help of 24 winners and had all the answers to every question her opponent asked of her. Breaking Tomljanovic once in the first set and three more times in the second to claim her 24th win of the season.
“Ajla plays very well. It’s tough to play against her,” Paolini said during her on-court interview.
“She can hit really good shots. I was trying to play deep in the court and trying to move well.
“There were a little bit of ups and downs, but I’m happy I won the match.”
Paolini, who recently won the Italian Open, is currently at a ranking-high of fourth in the world. She is hoping to go one step further at the French Open than 12 months ago when she reached her maiden Grand Slam final before losing to Iga Swiatek.
“Last year I played a few matches here (on Court Philippe Chatrier) and then in the Olympics. So I’m a little bit more used to this court than before,” she said.
“I’m trying to think match by match because it’s always tough to play this kind of tournament. A lot of players play well, so it’s not easy. I’m taking one match at a time and let’s see if I can play good the next one.”
Paolini will play either Anastasia Potapova or Yuliia Starodubtseva in the third round.
Zheng wins despite hitting 31 unforced errors
Also through to the third round in Paris is eighth seed Qinwen Zheng, who won the Olympic title at Roland Garros last summer. Zheng beat Colombia’s Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3, in just over 90 minutes. She now has a 6-1 winning record against players ranked outside the top 50 this season with her only loss being to Laura Siegemund at the Australian Open.
“It’s not easy to play against her (Arango). She had a really good performance today,” said Zheng.
“She put every ball back. It’s not easy for me to finish the point.
“I was just trying to step forward into the court and finish the ball at the net.
Zheng, whose best result at the French Open was reaching the fourth round in 2022, began her match against Arango visibly nervous before finding her footing on the court. It was a far from perfect performance from the Chinese No.1 who broke her opponent six times and hit 31 winners alongside 31 unforced errors.
“When I saw the short ball I said (to herself) ‘okay, I got to go to the net to finish the point. Whatever happened.’ If we stayed at the baseline, she can put all the balls back, which makes it a very difficult match,” Zheng said of her match tactics.
“I’m really happy with my performance today and really happy with my game.”
Awaiting her in the next round will be Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko, who is rapidly rising up the ranks of women’s tennis. Since January the 18-year-old has won five titles on the ITF Tour and reached the final of a WTA 125 event in Italy. Mboko defeated Eva Lys 6-4, 6-4, in her latest match.
