PARIS — Former Grand Slam champions
Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka advanced to the third round of the French Open on
Wednesday, as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal prepared to keep their Roland
Garros title ambitions on course.
اضافة اعلان
Kerber, who won her first clay title in six
years on the eve of the French Open, defeated French wildcard and 2020 junior
champion Elsa Jacquemot 6–1, 7–6 (7/2) as she seeks the only Grand Slam missing
from her collection.
The German 21st seed next plays Aliaksandra
Sasnovich, the Belarusian who knocked out
US Open champion Emma Raducanu 3–6, 6–1,
6–1.
"I think the last week was really
important for me to get the title," former number one Kerber said of her
Strasbourg triumph.
"I had a lot of confidence. It's great
to be back here and I hope I can still play a few more matches.
"When you achieve everything you want,
you play for the love of the game. I just love the sport. Let's see how long I can
keep playing at a high level."
Azarenka, a two-time
Australian Open winner,
beat 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic 6–1, 7–6 (7/3). She meets
Swiss 23rd seed Jil Teichmann for a place in the fourth round.
Reigning champion Djokovic will come up
against his long-time former coach when he plays Slovakia's Alex Molcan in the
second round later on Wednesday.
World number one
Djokovic split from Marian
Vajda after last year's ATP Finals having worked with the Slovakian coach since
he was a teenager in 2006. They took a break from each in other in 2017 but
reunited the next year.
Molcan and Vajda started working together
earlier this month.
Chasing a 14th French Open title, Nadal goes
up against French wildcard
Corentin Moutet in the evening session. Moutet
knocked out 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in round one.
Nadal began the year with a 20-match winning
run, capturing a second Australian Open title to claim a record 21st Grand Slam
and move ahead of Djokovic and
Roger Federer.
The 35-year-old's record at the French Open
stands at a staggering 106 wins and just three losses since his 2005
title-winning debut, but he is without a title on clay this season after
dealing with rib and foot injuries.
Carlos Alcaraz, 19, is attempting to become
just the eighth teenager to capture a major men's title, and widely tipped to
break the stranglehold of Djokovic and Nadal.
He is the tour's dominant player in 2022,
posting a 29-3 record and winning a season-leading four titles.
Alcaraz faces fellow Spaniard Albert
Ramos-Vinolas for a place in the last 32.
Zverev, a
Roland Garros semifinalist in
2021, takes on Sebastian Baez of Argentina. The 21-year-old Baez won his maiden
title at Estoril at the start of the month.
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