Aryna Sabalenka paid tribute to "great fighter" Paula Badosa and is relishing the opportunity to play her best friend on the WTA Tour in the French Open third round.

The pair have endured contrasting fortunes in their opening two matches at Roland-Garros this week.

Sabalenka has dropped just seven games on the way to straight-set victories over Erika Andreeva and Moyuka Uchijima, while Badosa has come from behind to beat Katie Boulter and Yulia Putintseva.

The reigning Australian Open champion - fresh from reaching successive clay-court finals in Madrid and Rome - cannot wait to face the Spaniard, but acknowledged their friendship will be put aside when they collide.

"She's my favourite," Sabalenka said. "I love her so much. I love to see her play, and she's really a great fighter, so it's always great matches.

"It's always tough to play your friend, really your best friend on tour, but we know how to manage that. We know how to separate court and life. So, it's always a great battle, a great fight against her. I always enjoy playing against her."

Sabalenka has won each of the last four meetings between the players, though the most recent in Stuttgart earlier this year ended prematurely with an emotional Badosa forced to retire injured. 

The former world number two has endured a seemingly endless battle with injuries in recent times, with a back problem forcing her to miss the second half of last season and seeing her drop out of the WTA's top 100.

"She has a big personality," Badosa said of her opponent. "She always brings this good energy, even on court. She's a very active, very intense player.

"I'm really looking forward to that match. I think the last time [in Stuttgart], it finished in a sad way. I learned a lot from that match. I think it was a very good one from both sides.

"Sharing the court with her - after all these results she's getting - is a pleasure for me, because this past year hasn't been easy. Playing this kind of match makes it all worth it."

Marketa Vondrousova and Madison Keys were both pushed hard but advanced to the fourth round of the French Open on Thursday.

Vondrousova's topsy-turvy match against Katie Volynets started on Wednesday before concluding on Thursday, with the number five seed coming out on top 0-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The American started strongly, storming through the first set, but Vondrousova recovered well to take a commanding 4-1 lead before rain washed out the rest of the game.

Vondrousova picked up where she left off upon resumption on Thursday and won one game before another delay due to rain, but eventually saw out the win.

Keys, meanwhile, won in straight sets against Mayar Sherif, holding out for a 6-0 7-6 (9-7) victory.

The American cruised through the first game, enjoying three breaks, but a stern fightback from Sherif almost caused some problems.

Keys held her nerve though, avoiding a decider by saving three set points to prevail on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Vondrousova will face Chloe Paquet in the next round, while Keys will play either Sara Errani or Emma Navaro. 

Data Debrief: Vondrousova marches forward

The Roland Garros is the tournament where Vondrousova has won the joint-most career matches (13, equalling Indian Wells). 

She is also unbeaten against opponents ranked above 100 in the WTA since the start of 2023, going 10-0 against such competitors. 

Novak Djokovic eased through to the French Open third round following another straight-sets victory over Roberto Carballes Baena at Roland-Garros.

The reigning champion, who is seeking a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, took just over two hours to wrap up a 6-4 6-1 6-2 win and set up a showdown with either Gael Monfils or Lorenzo Musetti in round three.

Not since the 2017 Australian Open has Djokovic failed to progress beyond the second round at a major.

It looked like the Serb would be in for a tough battle as Carballes Baena broke in the opening game, though he did respond immediately before the first set appeared finely poised at 4-4 and deuce.

Djokovic subsequently drew first blood, and it was very much one-way traffic thereon.

Indeed, from 4-4 in that first set, the world number one won 14 of the next 17 games to sail into the last 32.

Data Debrief: Djokovic surpasses Nadal at Roland-Garros

The undisputed 'King of Clay', Nadal's record of 14 French Open titles looks highly unlikely to be under any severe threat in the near future.

However, Djokovic has surpassed the Spaniard by reaching round three at Roland-Garros for a 19th time in his 20 appearances - the most appearances by any player during the Open Era.

The Serb also notched up his 94th match win at the French Open. That is his joint-most at a single ATP event in his career, matching is tally at the Australian Open, where he is a 10-time champion.

French Open spectators will no longer be able to consume alcohol from the stands, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has revealed.

The move has been made in a bid to end unruly behaviour within the crowd following a couple of incidents at Roland-Garros this week.

Reigning women's champion Iga Swiatek pleaded for supporters to keep quiet during points after her second-round victory over Naomi Osaka, while David Goffin had chewing gum spat at him in his win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

While alcohol will still be available on the concourses, Mauresmo says there will be tougher security measures in place to identify offenders, while umpires are encouraged to be stricter when calling for respect "to the players and to the game".

"First of all, we are happy people are very enthusiastic about watching tennis and being part of the matches, showing feeling and emotions," the tournament director said.

"But there are definitely steps which shouldn't go further. A few things have needed to be put in place. Alcohol has been allowed up until now in the stands - but that's over."

"Overstepping these two things is not something we will tolerate. If people want to show emotion, that's great and see how it happens. I'm an optimist and I think people will react in a good way. If not, we will take more measures."

Alexander Zverev cruised through to the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over David Goffin on Thursday.

The fourth seed followed up his impressive win over 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in the last round by beating Goffin 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-2 after two hours and 22 minutes on the court.

Zverev was pushed all the way in the opening set before eventually edging it, and his intensity and power carried him through the rest of the match.

Despite making five unforced errors in the second set, the German remained in control and did not face a single break point in the third to advance.

He will play either Tallon Griekspoor or Luciano Darderi in the next round as he continues to chase his first major title. 

Data Debrief: Zverev continues dominance on clay

Zverev has won eight consecutive matches on clay for the first time since 2019, when he won eight between Geneva and Roland Garros. 

This was a significant victory, too, as it is his 90th in Grand Slam events - only Boris Becker and Tommy Haas have more among German players in men's singles. 

Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina remain on course for a French Open fourth-round showdown, after the pair enjoyed straight-sets victories in round two.

Rybakina was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Arantxa Rus in 67 minutes, while Svitolina battled past local favourite Diane Parry 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in just under two hours at Roland-Garros.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina is still yet to drop a set at this season's clay-court major.

Her opponent was seeking another scalp at the French Open, having stunned second seed Kim Clijsters at this stage back in 2011.

However, despite a spirited display, there was to be no such fairytale for the 33-year-old Dutchwoman 13 years on, with Rybakina hitting 28 winners to 20 unforced errors on the way to victory.

The Kazakhstani is back in round three for a third straight year, though she was forced to withdraw injured before her last-32 clash with Sara Sorribes Tormo 12 months ago.

Meanwhile, Svitolina faced another tough battle, having been forced to come from behind to beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the opening round.

Runner-up to Coco Gauff in Auckland at the start of the year, the Ukrainian has not progressed beyond the last 16 of any event since, but just had too much for Parry on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Data Debrief: Svitolina matches Sharapova and Stosur

A four-time quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, Svitolina is through to round three for a ninth successive appearance.

The 15th seed is the first player to do that since Maria Sharapova (13 from 2004) and Sam Stosur (10 from 2009) in 2018.

Aryna Sabalenka swept through to the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over qualifier Moyuka Uchijima on Thursday.

It only took 62 minutes for Sabalenka to secure a 6-2 6-2 win, with the second seed not being broken throughout the contest.

Rival Iga Swiatek had to come through a bruising battle against Naomi Osaka to reach the last 32 a day earlier, but there were no such complications for dominant Sabalenka against a Japanese opponent as she raced to victory.

She broke Uchijima twice in each set and racked up 27 winners in the match, coming out on top in 11 of her 14 points at the net.

The match was level at 2-2 until Sabalenka won four straight games to clinch the first set, not offering up a single break-point opportunity to Uchijima in the opener. She then had few issues closing it out in the second.

Data Debrief: Swiatek and Sabalenka set the standard

Sabalenka (60 wins) has now become only the second player to achieve 60 or more women's singles match wins at grand slam events since the start of the 2020 season, only trailing Swiatek, who has 67.

This win means she has made it to the third round at Roland Garros for five straight editions. Sabalenka is hoping to better her semi-final berth from last season, having made the final at the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome – losing to Swiatek each time – ahead of her campaign in Paris.

Sabalenka will next face former world number two Paula Badosa in a marquee third-round clash. The Spanish player progressed after battling back from a set down to defeat Yulia Putintseva 4-6 6-1 7-5.

Daniil Medvedev advanced to the French Open third round after Miomir Kecmanovic was forced to retire injured in their round-two clash at Roland-Garros.

The former US Open champion prevailed in just 55 minutes at 6-1 5-0 ahead on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, when his opponent was unable to continue.

Medvedev has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the clay-court major, reaching the last eight in 2021, but has plenty of energy still in reserve after his premature win.

A runner-up at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this season, the fifth seed was in dominant form throughout the contest, and will play either Mariano Navone or Tomas Machac in round three.

Data Debrief: Medvedev continues to make strides on clay

Medvedev has now won 36 career ATP matches on clay, with 50 per cent of those coming since the start of the 2023 season (18).

The fifth seed won 23 of his 27 points on first serve (85 per cent), while converting five of nine break points, and hitting 26 winners to just six unforced errors.

Jannik Sinner cruised into the French Open third round after making light work of home favourite Richard Gasquet in a straight-sets victory on Wednesday.

The world number two overcame Christopher Eubanks in his first Roland-Garros meeting and had similar ease against French veteran Gasquet on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Having triumphed at the Australian Open in January, Sinner will be dreaming of a second major title after his convincing 6-4 6-2 6-4 success in the French capital.

Buoyed on with confidence from a straight-sets win against Eubanks on Monday, Sinner stole a decisive break at 3-3 in the first set to undo 37-year-old Gasquet.

Gasquet, a 16-time ATP Tour champion, struggled to respond after that opening blow, holding his service just twice in a one-sided second set.

Sinner continued to dictate play from deep on the court, pulling Gasquet apart at will to tee up a routine win in just two hours and 17 minutes.

Data Debrief: Sinner riding major wave

Fresh from his major-winning exploits in Australia, Sinner is a remarkable 9-0 in grand slam competition this year.

The 22-year-old extended to a 12-1 record against players ranked outside the top 10 at Roland-Garros, while he now has 26 wins and just one loss against Frenchmen since August 2020.

Iga Swiatek acknowledged her mind was not always in Wednesday's match as the world number one survived a French Open scare against Naomi Osaka.

The three-time Roland-Garros champion appeared set for an early exit on Court Philippe-Chatrier after trailing 4-1 in the deciding set.

Matters worsened for the Polish tennis star when Osaka mustered a 5-3 lead, but Japan's four-time major winner relinquished a match point with Swiatek on the ropes.

The defending French Open champion responded in blistering style, eventually triumphing 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 7-5 to reach the third round unscathed.

After a shock to the system and nearing an early exit, Swiatek said she struggled to focus at times in Paris.

"For sure I felt for most of the match that I wasn't really here and now," Swiatek said.

"My mind was flying around sometimes, but when I was really under the biggest pressure I was able to focus more and play better, not thinking about what the score is and that I was really close to losing.

"I just kept going forward and I hope that my game is going to get better because of that."

Aged 22 years and 363 days, Swiatek is the third-youngest women's player, after Monica Seles and Steffi Graf, to win 16 consecutive matches at the French Open during the Open Era.

Victory also marked her 30th win at Roland-Garros, as many as Seles before turning 23.

Only Graf (47), Sanchez Vicario (39), Gabriela Sabatini (34) and Martina Hingis (31) have registered more wins when under the age of 23 at this event during the Open Era.

"For sure this match was really intense," Swiatek added in her on-court interview.

"Much more intense for the second round than I ever expected. Naomi played amazing tennis, with a really loose hand – maybe she's gonna be a clay-court specialist in a while."

The Pole has also now won 69 of her 70 completed WTA main-draw matches on clay after winning the opening set.

Coco Gauff booked her place in the French Open third round with another straight-sets victory over Tamara Zidansek.

The third seed is yet to drop a set at Roland Garros in her opening two matches, but was made to work for her 6-3 6-4 win over the former Roland Garros semi-finalist.

Zidansek broke in the opening game on the way to a 3-1 lead, but Gauff broke back in game six, and again in game eight on the way to drawing first blood.

The players exchanged two breaks apiece to leave the set finely poised at 4-4, until the American's crucial break in the ninth game paved the way for victory.

The 2022 runner-up will play either Dayana Yastremska or Wang Yafan in round three.

Data Debrief: Gauff matches Evert

The 20-year-old has now registered 17 match wins at the French Open. That is as many as the great Chris Evert managed before turning 21.

In fact, only Kathy Rinaldi Stunkel and Mary Joe Fernandez have registered more victories amongst American women before the age of 21.

Iga Swiatek survived a huge scare before eventually seeing off Naomi Osaka in a thrilling second-round clash at the French Open.

After winning the opening set, the reigning champion was pegged back by her Japanese opponent, and trailed 4-1 in the decider before saving match point at 5-3 behind.

However, she dug deep to prevail 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 7-5 as Court Philippe-Chatrier was treated to a blockbuster battle of the four-time major winners.

The opening set went the distance with Swiatek eventually dominating the tie-break to draw first blood. However, Osaka broke at the start of the second as she came roaring back to level the contest.

The world number 134 built on that momentum, saving several break points while also breaking her opponent for a commanding 4-1 advantage.

She then reached match point at 40-30 in game nine, and stood on the brink of becoming only the third player to beat Swiatek at Roland Garros after Simona Halep and Maria Sakkari.

However, a trio of untimely backhand errors - two into the net and one long - allowed the top seed to survive and break back, and she did not look back from there.

Osaka double-faulted at the end of game 11 to hand Swiatek another break at 6-5 up, and she successfully held out for victory after her opponent sent a forehand wide.

Data Debrief: Swiatek matches Steffi and Seles

It was touch and go at one point but, at 22 years and 363 days old, Swiatek is the third-youngest player after Monica Seles and Steffi Graf to win 16 consecutive matches at the French Open during the Open Era.

Meanwhile, the Pole has now won 69 of her 70 completed WTA main-draw matches on clay after winning the opening set.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a stern examination of his French Open credentials as he overcame qualifier Jesper de Jong in four sets to reach the third round on Wednesday.

The Wimbledon champion looked set for another routine victory when he raced into a two-set lead, but the 23-year-old Dutchman refused to go quietly in a gruelling three-hour, 11-minute contest decided by a 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 scoreline.

De Jong, ranked 176th in the world, was given a standing ovation after a brave performance which had Alcaraz on the ropes, finding joy with a series of inventive drop shots.

The momentum seemed to be with him when he claimed an early break in the fourth set, but Alcaraz broke straight back, rediscovering his composure following an angry outburst at his box.

Alcaraz then made it successive breaks as De Jong began to tire, with a series of unforced errors proving costly as the Spaniard took the contest away from him.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz passes important test

Should Alcaraz go on to win his third grand slam title at Roland Garros, he may well look back on Wednesday's match as an important milestone as he was pushed to his limits after an injury-affected few weeks.

He has now won 13 of his first 16 singles matches at the French Open, and either Sebastian Korda or Kwon Soon-woo will await him in the third round.

David Goffin has claimed a member of the crowd spat chewing gum at him during Tuesday's first-round win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the French Open.

Goffin was booed by the crowd on court 14 after his 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 win over the home favourite and responded by cupping his ears.

The Belgian – who reached his highest singles ranking of seventh in 2017 – will face Alexander Zverev in the second round on Thursday, after the German eliminated Rafael Nadal.

He was enraged by the treatment he received during his opening match, accusing French tennis fans of being less respectful than their counterparts at other grand slams. 

"Clearly, it goes too far, it's total disrespect. It's really too much," Goffin told reporters. "It's becoming football, soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans and there will be fights in the stands.

"It's starting to become ridiculous. Some people are there more to cause trouble than to create an atmosphere.

"Someone spat out their chewing gum at me. It was getting complicated. That's why I wanted to stay calm. If I started to get angry about it, it could have destabilised me.

"I think it only happens in France. At Wimbledon, obviously, there's not that. Or in Australia either. At the US Open, it's still rather quiet. Here, it's a really unhealthy atmosphere."

Novak Djokovic fought off a stern challenge from Pierre-Hugues Hubert to make a successful start to his French Open title defence on Tuesday.

The world number one held off the challenge of the home favourite to win 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, setting him on his way to a potential 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic enjoyed a fairly comfortable first set but had to work hard to win the second as Hubert took a more aggressive approach. He steadied in time for a crucial tie-break though, holding his nerve to secure it.

The Serbian regained control in the final set, sealing the win after a double fault from Hubert to set up a second-round tie against Roberto Carballes Baena.

Data Debrief: Djokovic's title defence off to a good start

Djokovic (367) trails only Roger Federer (369) for Men’s Singles match wins at Grand Slam events in the Open Era, and could overtake him with a strong showing at the French Open.

He is now 72-2 in opening round matches at Grand Slam events, winning his past 69 such matches. Djokovic’s last opening round loss came via retirement at the 2011 US Open against Conor Niland.