Defending champion Iga Swiatek breezes through opening match at French Open

Iga Swiatek made a flying start to her bid for a third successive Roland Garros crown.

The world number one from Poland spent exactly one hour on Court Philippe Chatrier as she dispatched French wild card Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2.

Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win three straight French Opens since Justine Henin in 2007.

She arrived in Paris in fine form having won back-to-back titles on clay in Madrid and Rome.

“it feels like home here,” she said. “Hopefully, I’m going to be here as long as possible.

“These last tournaments gave me a lot and I managed to play tennis in any conditions and under any circumstances. Every tournament is different and the next chapter.”

Asked if she feels like the ‘Queen of Clay’, Swiatek added: “I think it’s too early.

“I’m really proud of my achievements and this has always been my favourite surface. I will be watching Rafa’s match.

“I’m just at the beginning but I will try to take some lessons from him on being a good person and a good player.”

Swiatek faces former world number one Naomi Osaka in an eye-catching second-round match.

“They also achieved many great things. So they have bigger kind of belief, I would say, as well.”

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was also largely untroubled, the Czech beating Spain’s Rebeka Masarova 6-1 6-3.

Tunisian Ons Jabeur, beaten by Vondrousova in last year’s SW19 final, eased through 6-3 6-2 against American wild card Sachia Vickery, avenging a Roland Garros defeat by the same player in 2018.

US Open champion Coco Gauff, beaten by Swiatek in the final in Paris two years ago, thumped Russian Julia Avdeeva 6-1 6-1 in just 53 minutes.