Aryna Sabalenka was challenged by Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah early in their match, but the top seed still clinched a straight-set 6-4 6-1 Australian Open first-round win over the French wildcard.
Playing against the world No. 118 for the first time in her career, the four-time Grand Slam champion got broken in the very first game of the match.
While Sabalenka managed to instantly get the break back, Rakotomanga Rajaonah continued to play well and made the set tied to four games apiece after saving break points in the sixth and eighth games.
Serving to stay in the first set in the 10th game, Rakotomanga Rajaonah had two game points and was close to leveling it to five games apiece. But then, the Belarusian tennis giant stepped up and broke the Frenchwoman to bag the opener.
As expected, Rakotomanga Rajaonah's level dropped after losing the first set in a tough way as Sabalenka registered breaks in the second and sixth games of the second set to complete a straight-set win.
During the match, the top seed fired 23 winners and also forced her rival into committing 19 unforced errors.
Who is Sabalenka's next rival at the Australian Open?
In the Australian Open second round, the Belarusian faces the winner of the match between 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Bai Zhuoxuan. The Pavlyuchenkova and Bai clash is in progress, so the top seed won't wait for too long to learn about who will be her next opponent.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka is looking to get back on the right track at Melbourne Park after falling just short of completing three-peat at the Happy Slam last year.
"I'm not really focusing on that result last year. But of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did last year," Sabalenka said in her pre-tournament presser in Melbourne.
