2022 French Open: Sakkari downs Burel; win for Bencic
Number four seed Maria Sakkari stamped an authoritative straight-set win (6-2, 6-3) over Clara Burel in the women's singles first round at the French Open. It was Sakkari's 20th win of the season. She will face Czech Karolina Muchova in the second round on Wednesday. Meanwhile, number 14 seed Belinda Bencic thumped Reka Luca Jani from Hungary 6-1, 6-1.
Sakkari dished out 24 winners to Burel's 13. She fired three aces and collected a total of 68 points. She pocketed 35 points through serves. Notably, Sakkari became the first Top 10 player to make the second round at the 2022 French Open.
Sakkari now has a 20-9 win record in the season underway. It was her fourth win on clay. She seeks her maiden title in 2022. The Greek lost in the finals in Indian Wells and St Petersburg. She was ousted in the quarters and semis in Rome and Doha, respectively. She exited in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Sakkari is yet to capture a Grand Slam in her career. She was a semi-finalist at the French Open and US Open in 2021. The Greek now has an 11-5 win-loss record at Roland Garros. Overall, she has a 41-24 win record across Slams. Burel, a former junior world number one, clocked her eighth loss at the Slams to show a 3-8 win-loss record.
"I think it's always tough to play the first round in a Grand Slam, especially against a local [player]. But I think I handled the stress of the first round extremely well," said Sakkari post the win.
Bencic slammed 28 winners to Jani's nine. She converted six of her seven break points and captured 57 points. She now has a 19-8 win record this season, including 10 wins on clay. Earlier this year, she won the Charleston Open. The Swiss was a semi-finalist in Miami and a quarter-finalist in Sydney and St Peterburg. She made a third-round exit in Madrid.
Bencic has a 6-5 win-loss record at the French Open. She had exited in the third round at Roland Garros in 2015. That was her best run across Slams to date. Overall, she has a 46-26 win-loss record in majors. Meanwhile, Jani marked her maiden appearance in the main draw at a Grand Slam since the 2011 US Open.
World number 23 Coco Gauff eased past qualifier Rebecca Marino 7-5, 6-0. Number 17 seed Leylah Fernandez battered Kristina Mladenovic 6-0, 7-5. Muchova beat Carole Monnet 6-3, 6-3. Marie Bouzkova hammered Anastasia Gasanova 6-2, 6-1.
