Maria Sakkari cruises into French Open second round

Greek tennis star, world No.4 Maria Sakkari cruised her way into the French Open second round after defeating French hope Clara Burel 6-2, 6-3 in their first-round match on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros. Sakkari, a French Open semifinalist last year, and the first Top 10 player to make the second round this year, held off World No.95 Burel in their first meeting.

The victory marks Sakkari’s 20th match-win of the season so far. Sakkari made her first WTA 1000 final earlier this year at Indian Wells, peaking at a career-high ranking of No.3 following that event. Sakkari handed Burel another early defeat in a major by firing 24 winners, nearly double the Frenchwoman’s 13. Sakkari broke Burel five times to capture victory in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

“I think it’s always tough to play first round in a Grand Slam, especially against a local [player],” Sakkari said afterward. “But I think I handled the stress of the first round extremely well. My tennis maybe was not 10 out of 10, but overall I think I did a great job.”

Former Top 20 player Karolina Muchova awaits Sakkari in the second round. Muchova defeated Sakkari in their only tour-level meeting, on the clay courts of Madrid last year.