Fifth seed Tsitsipas powers past Carballes Baena into third round

PARIS : World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas found little resistance as he disposed of claycourt specialist Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to the French Open third round.

The fifth seed, who is chasing his first ever Grand Slam, had struggled somewhat in his tournament opener against Jiri Vesely but was in complete control against the 30-year-old Spaniard, cruising to an easy win.

He quickly grabbed the initiative, breaking his opponent early, while holding his own serve, to bag the first set.

The pair then traded two breaks each in a rollercoaster second set with Carballes Baena trying to lock Tsitsipas in long baseline rallies.

The Spaniard managed to take it to a tiebreak but the Greek kept his composure to take a two-set lead before cruising to a quick 4-0 and then booking his spot in the second round with ease.