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Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas powers past Roberto Carballes Baena into third round

Reuters
Updated
Tsitsipas celebrates his win
Tsitsipas celebrates his winReuters
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas (24) found little resistance as he disposed of claycourt specialist Roberto Carballes Baena (30) 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 Spanish claycourt specialist.

With a potential clash against world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, Tsitsipas said he had no plan for the rest of the tournament and instead adapted to whatever was coming his way.

"During a Grand Slam, there is no plan," he said. "Things are being thrown at you, and you just have to react to them and do something.

"So I wish there was a plan. Maybe in Rafa's (Nadal) mind when he plays here there is some sort of a plan."

Spain's Nadal is a record 14-time winner in Paris but is not competing this year due to injury.

"But you just have to adjust to each player's shot-making, each player's idea of how they're going to play against you. That's how things work," Tsitsipas said.

"You can never be sure enough of how things are going to evolve during a match."

The Greek quickly grabbed the initiative against Carballes Baena, breaking him 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 third round with ease.