Victoria Azarenka finishes quick in opening round of the French Open

Embed from Getty Images Victoria Azarenka battled with the elements at the French Open but made it through the first round on a rainy Sunday. After a rain delay with temperatures in the 50s, the tenth seed rallied in her return defeating Danka Kovinic 6-1, 6-2 on Suzanne Lenglen Court. 

The two met four years ago at the Australian Open with the Belorussian easily winning against the Montenegrin. Azarenka met her match at the Italian Open when she ran out of gas and let Garbine Muguruza dictate her way to the final four. Despite the defeat, her three-game winning streak that went along with her US Open Final appearance was an impressive achievement. In her 13th main draw at Roland Garros, the 31-year-old would no doubt pick up where she left off. Kovinic was back for the fifth time in her career, looking to pull off an upset that would give her an advance for the first time in five years. 

They each held serve through three games even though the temperatures were unlike what they’re normally used to. After three service holds, Azarenka called the court supervisor and expressed her anger about playing in cold light rain. After pressing the issue, the 31-year-old got her wish, having play suspended for a time. 

After 50 minutes, they returned to action with Kovinic serving the fourth. Gaining breakpoints, Azarenka took the game with a break to love on the Montenegrin before picking back up with her service. The next two games went the way of the Belorussian who took advantage of her opponent’s troubles on serve. It was 5-1 with the 31-year-old serving for the set which led her to a couple set points. Another error from Kovinic brought the set to a close in 28 minutes. The Montenegrin had four double faults and 13 unforced errors and eight forced. 

Despite the struggles in the first, Kovinic managed to begin the second set with a strong service hold over Azarenka. The tenth seed answered with a serve to love, followed by a break of Kovinic to consolidate. A second service hold widened the gap for the Belorussian who added a double break to her success in the set. The second serve of Kovinic was not up to speed as she let it open the door for her opponent to dictate. 

The sixth game saw the players get into a close battle where it looked as if Kovinic would get her first break point against Azarenka. The tenth seed denied her that chance with a game point opportunity due to a 15 shot rally. She went on to hold serve, giving Kovinic one last chance to extend the match. The Montenegrin shut out Azarenka who at times put too much on the ball during her returns. 

Despite the missed chance to end it with a break, the 31-year-old served for the match getting into a deep rally with Kovinic on the first point. She took the first on a ball that stayed inside the baseline before quickly reaching three match points. It was all said and done with a lob rally ended with Azarenka tapping it away from the 26-year-old to complete her win in 61 minutes.