Aryna Sabalenka scores first-round win at 2024 Roland Garros, defeats Erika Andreeva

Aryna Sabalenka began her 2024 Roland Garros campaign with a dominant first-round victory over Erika Andreeva, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round.

"It was great match, great start for me," Sabalenka said after the match. "I think I was focusing on myself the whole game. I think that's why I was able to bring such good tennis."

The No. 2 seed was taking on the elder of the Andreeva sisters for the first time, having twice beaten younger sister Mirra, and breezed through the opening set before ultimately advancing in 68 minutes beneath the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof.

"In these conditions I just prepare myself for long rallies and I'm not trying to hit bigger, because if you hit bigger it brings more unforced errors, which is not really something I'm looking to," she said of the on-court humidity. "I'm just preparing myself mentally that it's going to be longer points and it's going to take more shots to finish the point."

Sabalenka enjoyed her best result at Roland Garros last year, coming within a point of the final before bowing out to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova in the semis. She arrived in Paris this spring fresh off a consistent clay-court season, reaching back-to-back finals at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia—losing only to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

With Swiatek safely on the opposite half of the draw, Sabalenka will likely have to contend with the likes of rival Elena Rybakina. Her projected semifinal opponent and No. 4 seed defeated Greet Minnen in straight sets to start off Tuesday’s action on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

But first, Sabalenka had to face Andreeva, a 19-year-old making her Roland Garros main-draw debut. Currently ranked exactly No. 100, the 2021 junior Roland Garros runner-up cracked the Top 100 for the first time back in March when she won her first WTA 1000 match over American Ashlyn Kreuger.

Sabalenka naturally proved an entirely different challenge: the 26-year-old surged out to a big lead as the match got underway, breaking serve twice to take the opening set behind 13 winners to seven unforced errors.

Emerging from a change break between sets, Andreeva scored her first break to level the second set a one game apiece but Sabalenka was undaunted, storming through five of the match’s final six games to serve out her spot in the second round in just over an hour. Up three match points, Sabalenka converted her third by overpowering Andreeva only to end the match with a deftly-hit drop shot.

Awaiting her in the next round will be one of two qualifiers as Spain's Irene Burillo Escorihuela must first take on Moyuka Uchijima of Japan.