Sabalenka Zheng sizzle on sunny day at French Open

PARIS - World number one Aryna Sabalenka and Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen charged into the fourth round of the French Open but Italian Lorenzo Musetti was made to work a little harder to progress in glorious sunshine on Friday.

Sabalenka experienced late resistance in her meeting with unseeded Olga Danilovic but won 6-2 6-3 and kept alive her hopes of winning a maiden Roland Garros trophy after major successes on the hardcourts of the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

The three-time Grand Slam champion looked in ruthless form while racing ahead 5-0 but Danilovic avoided the bagel by taking the sixth game on serve and pulled a break back to give herself a small chance to come back.

The resurgence did not last, however, as Sabalenka closed out the opening set with another break of serve and withstood another stern test in the second set to beat her 34th-ranked opponent from Serbia.

Im super happy with the win, Sabalenka said.

Olgas a fighter and I knew it was going to be a fight. I enjoyed playing against her, she played like a top 10 player and Im sure soon she will be in the top 10.

I enjoyed our battle and Im super happy to be through this difficult match.

Zheng, who won her biggest title at last years Olympics, continued her good form on Parisian clay as the Chinese eighth seed moved into the second week by beating Grand Slam debutant Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4 at a sunbathed Court Simonne Mathieu.

That match was halted briefly when the 18-year-old Mboko was down 5-3 in the second set as a fan needed medical attention but Zheng ensured her momentum was not affected when play resumed and quickly completed the victory over the Canadian.

Former semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova required treatment