Azarenka sees off teenager Tauson to move into French Open third round

Friday, 4 June 2021 01:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Azarenka in action during her first round match against Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova - Reuters

PARIS (Reuters): Victoria Azarenka advanced to the third round of the French Open after overcoming Danish teenager Clara Tauson with a 7-5 6-4 victory Court Simonne-Mathieu on Wednesday.

The Belarusian 15th seed, a former semi-finalist at Roland Garros, started strong when she broke Tauson in the opening game of the match but the Danish 18-year-old broke back to make it 2-2 in the first set.

However, Azarenka broke again to take a 6-5 lead before serving out the opening set. The pair then traded breaks twice in the second set, with both players making a number of unforced errors.

But the vastly experienced Azarenka, 31, had the crucial break of serve again at 4-4 to take the lead. She then held serve to clinch victory and book a third round match with American 23rd seed Madison Keys.