World No.7 Aryna Sabalenka came one set and one break behind against Frenchwoman Chloé Paquet (101st) to qualify for the second round of Roland-Garros in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Tuesday evening.
Sabalenka initially trailed 6-2, 2-0, then again 2 games to 0 in the deciding set before raising the bar. Author of thirteen unforced errors for only five winning shots in the first set, the 24-year-old Belarusian has rebalanced the balance to regain control of the game.
Sabalenka thus avoids being the fourth of the first eight seeds eliminated from entering Parisian clay, after the trophy holder Barbora Krejcikova (N.2), Anett Kontaveit (N.5) and Ons Jabeur (N. 6).
