Aryna Sabalenka's quest for a second consecutive Grand Slam title began with an easy straight-sets victory over Russian teenager Erika Andreeva as the weather once again wreaked havoc at the French Open on Tuesday.
By late afternoon on Day 3, only four of the scheduled 40 first-round ties had been completed as players and tournament organisers navigated a frustrating five-hour rain delay.
The chaos did not affect world No 2 Sabalenka, though, who powered through her opening set in just 26 minutes under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It took a little bit longer for the reigning Australian Open champion – who went into the Paris clay-court tournament on the back of defeats against Iga Swiatek in both the Madrid and Rome finals – to see out the second set with Sabalenka sealing a 6-1, 6-2 win after 68 minutes of action.
Sabalenka fired 27 winners past the 100th-ranked Andreeva and broke serve five times in a dominant display and goes on to face Irene Burillo Escorihuela of Spain or Japan's Moyuka Uchijima.
The Belarusian has made at least the semi-finals at her past six Grand Slams and is again expected to be world No 1 Swiatek's toughest rival in the Pole's bid for a fourth French Open title.
“I'm trying to do well on clay, it is tough conditions here but I enjoy playing here and I'm just trying to bring my best tennis every time – whatever the surface,” said Sabalenka, whose last first-round Grand Slam defeat came against Carla Suarez Navarro at the 2020 Australian Open. “Against someone like Erika Andreeva, she plays a smart game, I had to play a bit differently.”
World No 4 Elena Rybakina's second-round spot is also in the bag following a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belgium's Greet Minnen.
The Kazakhstani showed no sign of the recent illness which meant she was unable to defend her Italian Open title, even recovering from a fast start from Minnen who broke Rybakina in the opening game.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion quickly settled down to take the next 10 games, with Rybakina's forehand dominating while also successfully deploying drop shots to dominate her opponent who is ranked 85 in the world.
The roof was in use again on Court Suzanne Lenglen but Rybakina was relatively untroubled by the conditions, even in a second set that saw her drop serve twice.
“Of course, the ball is a little bit heavier and you need to move better and it's different, but that's tennis and you need to adjust with this rainy weather,” she said.
Rybakina is the only player to beat world No 1 Swiatek on clay this year after her victory over the Pole on her way to the title in Stuttgart in April.
Elsewhere, Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands defeated Germany's former world No 1 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-3.
And Zheng Qinwen showed no mercy to home favourite Alize Cornet in what was her farewell tournament as the seventh seed powered to a 6-2, 6-1 win in 83 minutes.
The 34-year-old Cornet, holder of the Open era women's record for consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances (69), had previously announced that she would bring the curtain down on her career after the tournament.
Cornet will still compete in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events before she walks away from the sport after almost 20 years as a professional.
“I was already in tears after Rafa Nadal’s match [on Monday]. I’m in more tears now,” said Cornet, who won six WTA Tour singles titles. “Lots of emotions. I’ve been preparing myself for weeks for this moment but you’re never really ready when you have to say goodbye.
“I gave everything to tennis. I was just really lucky to have the life I’ve had. It took a lot of efforts and sacrifices and questioning yourself. There were lot of ups and downs. But what an adventure.”
Next up for Australian Open runner-up Zheng will be either American Ashlyn Krueger or Germany's Tamara Korpatsch.
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
More coverage from the Future Forum
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Barbie
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
