Tennis-Second seed Sabalenka tames qualifier Shymanovich to advance

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2023 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her second round match against Belarus' Iryna Shymanovich REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

PARIS (Reuters) - World number two Aryna Sabalenka fought off a determined challenge from fellow Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich on Wednesday to move into the French Open third round with a 7-5 6-2 victory as she eyes the world number one spot.

The 25-year-old, who will take over top spot from Poland's Iga Swiatek with victory at the Paris Grand Slam, did not have an easy start with qualifier Shymanovich, ranked 214th, matching her power with every groundstroke.