Sabalenka and Djokovic progress, Roland Garros bans alcohol in stands

Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic soared into the third round of the French Open on Thursday as tournament organisers stepped up their fight against unruly fans by announcing an alcohol ban in the stands while also dealing with the wet-weather backlog.

Playing under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier even as Roland Garros officials were scratching their heads over what to do with the schedule after a fifth straight rain-hit day, second seed Sabalenka blew away qualifier Moyuka Uchijima 6-2 6-2.

"That's the little advantage we get as top players because we play in big stadiums with the roof," Sabalenka said.

"So I knew that no matter what the weather is going to be, I'm going to play my match. That's really helpful."

Defending champion Djokovic then outclassed Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 6-1 6-2, while seeds Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Elina Svitolina all went through unaffected by conditions due to overhead cover.

The story was vastly different on the outer courts where the action got into full swing only late in the afternoon with the backlog from Wednesday's washout adding to the woes of players and officials.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova overcame American Katie Volynets 0-6 6-1 6-4 in one of those matches while 11th seed Danielle Collins fell to Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 6-7(3) 7-5 6-4 after dealing with a neck issue.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina made a sluggish start before beating Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus 6-3 6-4 to move into the third round.

Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion, made an early double fault but held in the opening game under the roof on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

The 24-year-old Kazakh seized control, firing three consecutive aces from 15-30 down for a 3-2 lead and sealed a break to take the opening set in 35 minutes.

"With a lefty I'm trying to cover the right sides of the court. In the end I'm also focusing on myself a lot and trying to push myself today with a little bit of ups and downs," Rybakina said.

"A lot of games I was 0-40 down which I would say is not that usual for me. But she's an experienced player and it's not easy to play her."

There was little to separate the duo early in the second set before the lanky Rus took advantage of mistakes from her opponent to break for a 4-2 lead, only to surrender her serve in the next game.

"No one wants to play three sets... so I was trying to focus point by point and push myself. Energy-wise I wasn't that happy today with myself," Rybakina added.

Having levelled up at 4-4, Russian-born Rybakina broke again to set up the chance to settle the match on serve and she completed in style to book a meeting with Petra Martic or Elise Mertens.

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