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May 28 (UPI) -- Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were among the latest players to advance with wins in first-round matches at the 2024 French Open, while Maria Sakkari was among notable Day 2 upset victims at the Grand Slam event. Rybakina was on the court early to start Day 3 on Tuesday in Paris. The No. 4 player in the WTA singles rankings needed just 73 minutes to beat No. 85 Greet Minnen of Belgium.
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Rain again impacted the clay-court Grand Slam to start Day 3, supspending matches. Rybakina was able to play her match under the new roof of Court Suzanne-Lenglen on the Roland Garros campus.
"I am really happy to be back to compete here," Rybakina, who withdrew last year because of illness, said on the Tennis Channel broadcast.
Rybakina will meet No. 232 Angelique Kerber of Germany or No. 50 Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in the second round.
Swiatek, the No. 1 women's tennis player in the world, advanced Monday with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over No. 148 Leolia Jeanjean of France.
The Polish star needed just 61 minutes to dispatch her first-round foe. She converted 6 of 6 break-point chances.
"Overall, I think it was a really solid match," Swiatek, the defending champion, told reporters. "I'm happy to be back to play some matches here."
Swiatek will face No. 134 Naomi Osaka of Japan in the second round. Osaka beat No. 67 Laura Bronzetti of Italy in her first-round match on Day 1 of the clay court major.
Gauff, ranked No. 3 in the world, needed just 52 minutes to beat No. 208 Julia Avdeeva of Russia. The American converted 5 of 8 break points.
Gauff, a 2022 finalist and 2023 quarterfinalist, will meet No. 131 Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia in the second round.
No. 5 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, No. 8 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and No. 11 Danielle Collins of the United States were among the other top women to advance on Day 2.
Sakkari was the first major upset victim of the tournament. She won her first set 6-3 against No. 88 Varvara Gracheva. Her French foe then stormed back by winning the final two sets to boot the No. 6 player on the women's singles circuit.
Sakkari, of Greece, totaled 39 unforced errors and converted just 4 of 15 break points. Gracheva, who converted 5 of 6 break points, will meet No. 80 Bernarda Para of the United States in the second round.
On the men's side, No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy ousted No. 46 Christopher Eubanks of the United States by 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. He broke the American five times in the 2-hour, 9-minute match.
No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany was the second-highest-seeded men's player to advance on Day 2. He moved on with a straight-sets victory over No. 275 Rafael Nadal, potentially ending the Spanish legend's decorated run at Roland Garros.
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Americans Tommy Paul (No. 14) and Ben Shelton (No. 15) were among the other top men's players to advance on Day 2.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 11 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 13 Holger Rune of Denmark and No. 12 Taylor Fritz of the United States are among the top men's players scheduled to play on Day 3.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 10 Daria Kasatkina of Russia, No. 14 Madison Keys of the United States and No. 19 Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus are among the top women's players with matches scheduled for Tuesday in Paris.
First-round French Open coverage will continue through 5:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday on Tennis Channel. Second-round coverage will start at 5 a.m. Wednesday on Tennis Channel. Coverage will air on NBC and stream on Peacock on Saturday and Sunday.
The women's final will be June 8 on NBC and Peacock. The men's final will be June 9 on the same platforms.
