INDIAN WELLS (AFP) — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka launched her bid for an elusive first Indian Wells title with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory over Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume on Friday.

Sabalenka and men’s world No. 2 Jannik Sinner headlined the day’s play as seeded players swung into action after enjoying first-round byes.

Sabalenka, playing her first tournament since a runner-up finish to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open, showed no sign of rust as she overpowered 136th-ranked Sakatsume, who was playing her first career match against a top-20 player.

“I’m really happy with the way I was serving, with the way I was putting her on the back foot,” said Sabalenka, who has twice reached the Indian Wells final but lost to Rybakina in 2023 and to Mirra Andreeva last year.

A nervous Sakatsume dropped her serve in the opening game but steadied after saving four break points to hold in the fifth.

Even so, she had no real answer to the Belarusian’s power, and the lone break was enough for Sabalenka to seize the opening set.

After Sakatsume held serve to open the second, Sabalenka won five straight games, closing out the match after 72 minutes without facing a break point.

“I haven’t played for a while after the Australian Open, and happy with the performance today,” said Sabalenka, who was cheered on by Brazilian fiancé Georgios Frangulis.

She said the ring he surprised her with was “very comfy,” although she’d taken care to ascertain there was no danger of losing the impressive diamond solitaire during the rigors of a match.

“I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” she said. “It feels comfy, it feels shiny.”

“I hope that my opponent will get distracted with this diamond and it’s going to benefit me,” she added with a laugh.

Men’s fourth-seed Alexander Zverev also sailed into the third round, beating Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.

It was an encouraging start for the German, who fell in his opening match last year and has never made it past the quarter-finals in the California desert.

“I have struggled in Indian Wells before, but I feel different this year,” he said.