Swiatek cruises, Wawrinka concludes French Open chapter with loss

PARIS, May 25 : Four-times French Open champion Iga Swiatek charged into the second round with a comfortable victory on Monday, but another much-admired winner in Paris was unable to extend his stay as Stan Wawrinka bowed out of Roland Garros for the final time.

French favourite Gael Monfils, who like Wawrinka will end his career when the season concludes, will look to prolong his campaign when he plays compatriot Hugo Gaston in the evening session on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Swiatek has found it hard to hit her stride on the tour in recent months but a return to the red dirt of Paris offered her the perfect platform to rediscover her rhythm and she did it with a 6-1 6-2 win over Australian Emerson Jones.

"I'm really happy with the way I played," said the Pole, who is bidding for her seventh Grand Slam title overall.

"It was a solid match from the beginning to the end. I technically knew how to play, so I just did it, and it was a good day, for sure."

While Swiatek avoided the worst of the blazing afternoon sun, Paris Olympics gold medallist Zheng Qinwen struggled to cope with the heat and wilted in a 6-4 6-0 defeat by Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.

Zheng has been inconsistent since having elbow surgery last year and told reporters later that she was affected by the loopy shots that Chwalinska used to disrupt her rhythm on the smaller court seven venue.

"She has a good game on clay and the court was really small when she played high balls to me," said Zheng, who is now set to drop from world number 56 to outside the top 100.

"I couldn't go more back like on the big courts. That also makes a difference ... honestly, the conditions were tough for me. The weather has been really hot."

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