PARIS — Defending ladies’s champion Iga Swiatek joined No.1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka within the fourth spherical of the French Open on Friday and neither participant has dropped a set thus far.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam winner who has solely as soon as reached the semifinals on the French Open, beat Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 on Courtroom Philippe Chatrier, the place Friday’s scorching climate contrasted with earlier days.
“The ball flies a lot quicker,” Sabalenka stated. “The bounces are a lot increased.”
Swiatek, who has gained 4 of her 5 main titles at Roland Garros, defeated Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5 on Courtroom Suzanne Lenglen to increase her French Open profitable streak to 23 matches. However a second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes examined the 23-year-old Polish participant, who yelled in aid after profitable on her second match level.
“She used her possibilities and simply went for it,” stated Swiatek, who loved temperatures which reached 29 levels Celsius (84 Fahrenheit). “For positive I do not thoughts. On clay it provides the balls the additional bounce.”
Sabalenka and Swiatek, who had 20 winners and 21 unforced errors in her win, have been in contrasting kind.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka has reached six singles finals this yr, essentially the most for a girl coming into Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2013.
However Swiatek is seeking to attain her first ultimate wherever since profitable her third straight French Open title, and fourth general, right here final yr.
Swiatek is seeking to turn into the primary lady to win right here 4 successive instances within the Open period. Her first title got here in 2020. Her different main was in 2022 on the US Open.
Requested who was below essentially the most strain to win this yr’s French Open — her or Swiatek — Sabalenka stated, jokingly: “Let’s simply go away it on Iga since she gained it, what, 3 times in a row?”
Swiatek will now face Elena Rybakina, who brushed apart 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a duel of heavy hitters on Friday.
The Twelfth-seeded Rybakina, who got here to Roland Garros recent from her Strasbourg Open run to the title, was not impressed by Ostapenko’s flurry of missiles as she prevailed with a forehand winner down the road on the primary match level.
“The quick situations make it troublesome to regulate the ball nevertheless it undoubtedly helps for the serve,” Rybakina stated.
“I had some ups and downs however pleased with the way in which it went at the moment.”
In different ladies’s play, fourth-seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy eased previous Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight units.
Starodubtseva, seeking to earn her first profession win over a high 10 participant, was no match for final yr’s French Open finalist who will subsequent face both Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Bernarda Pera.
“It was an excellent match after just a few video games. At first I used to be not feeling rather well. The situations are totally different at the moment from earlier rounds,” Paolini stated postmatch.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4, whereas No. 16 Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova additionally superior.
In remaining third-round ladies’s play, former US Open champion Coco Gauff faces Marie Bouzkova on Courtroom Philippe Chatrier, and No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the runner-up eventually yr’s US Open, performs former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova earlier on the identical court docket.
There’s additionally an all-American contest on Courtroom Suzanne Lenglen between present Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who gained that main in 2020, the yr she went on to lose within the French Open ultimate to Swiatek.
Data from the Related Press and Reuters was used on this story.