Bianca Andreescu in the 2nd round, Ons Jabeur without fear at Roland-Garros

After a false start, the Canadian overthrew her rival in three sets of 2-6, 6-3 and 6-4 on the Simonne-Mathieu court at Roland-Garros.

Aged 33, Azarenka, champion on Parisian soil in 2009, had yet only taken 37 minutes to seize the first round.

During this first act, Andreescu had scored points on only 50% of his first serves, winning 23 rallies and committing a double fault in passing.

The trend reversed in the second set, which offered much tighter play. Trailing 1-3, Andreescu broke his opponent to tie the score.

In the next game, the Ontarian found herself ahead for the first time following a powerful and winning forehand.

A second break in a row would follow, then Andreescu served for the second set, won 6-3 after saving two break points.

The Canadian continued her surly momentum to build another advantage by taking Azarenka’s serve in the 3rd game of the final set before confirming and making it 3-1.

With his 5 aces and 4 breaks of service from 12 chances, Andreescu worked hard to maintain this gap and put the match in his pocket after two and a half hours of play.

The 42nd player in the world now has an appointment with the American Emma Navarro, ranked 75th.

Jabeur advances without fear

A year after being ousted in the first round, Ons Jabeur knocked out Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1. At the same time, she exorcised her demons from the past and put an end to the doubt that persisted as to the state of one of her calves.

The Tunisian, one of the crowd favourites, smiled and expressed her relief after her disappointment last year. She then lowered her flag in front of the Polish Magda Linette.

Ons Jabeur, after his victory against Lucia Bronzetti.

Photo : Reuters / BENOIT TESSIER

Jabeur will now be able to focus on his real goal: winning a first major title. She was a finalist at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows last year.

The 28-year-old has also struggled with injuries this season. She underwent knee surgery after the Australian Open before being sidelined with a calf injury. She halted her comeback when she faced world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany at the end of April. Then, she withdrew from the Madrid tournament.

It was difficult for me after Stuttgartadmitted Jabeur, adding that she has started to find her bearings again.

On Tuesday, she fired 27 winners against only 7 for Bronzetti, but she also committed 24 unforced errors. An aspect of her game that she will obviously have to work on.

Elsewhere, 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva started her first grand slam tournament by beating Alison Riske-Amritraj in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister Erika, 18, lost to Emma Navarro.

Sixth seed Coco Gauff was slow to find her bearings, but she eventually defeated Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Two top seeds have packed up. Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina (no 25) lost 6-2 and 6-3 against French Diane Parry, while Czech Marie Bouzkova (no 31) was upset 6-4 and 7-6 (7/5) by China’s Xinyu Wang.