World No. 1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek on Saturday took just 51 minutes to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros, as Coco Gauff ended 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva’s memorable Paris debut.
Swiatek blitzed 80th-ranked Wang Xinyu of China 6-0, 6-0 on the back of 21 winners as the 22-year-old Pole took another step closer to becoming the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to win back-to-back titles in Paris.
Of the six sets she has played so far, four have been to love. In all she has dropped just eight games through three rounds.
Photo: AFP
“It was a really solid performance from me. It’s not easy to stay disciplined and keep your focus,” said Swiatek, who also won the title in 2020.
Swiatek is to face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who breezed past 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu with the loss of just two games for a quarter-final berth.
Her path to the final was made easier earlier on Saturday by the withdrawal of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, a possible last-four opponent, due to illness.
Rybakina had been due to face Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier, but said she had a fever.
World No. 6 Gauff, the runner-up to Swiatek last year, came back from a set down to defeat Andreeva 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-1.
Andreeva, ranked a lowly 143, had come through qualifying and was the youngest player to make the third round since 2005.
“Mirra is super young and has a big future,” said 19-year-old Gauff, who faces Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia for a quarter-finals spot.
Andreeva was fortunate to avoid a default for petulantly hitting a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd during the first set.
“Right after I thought that it was a really stupid move from me,” she said.
In the men’s singles, world No. 4 Casper Ruud, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year, dropped the first set before easing to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win against China’s Zhang Zhizhen.
Twenty-six-year-old Zhang was bidding to become the first Chinese man since 1936 to reach the fourth round.
Ruud next faces in-form Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean edged out Marcos Giron of the US 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3.
Danish world No. 6 and Holger Rune eased past 231st-ranked Argentinian qualifier Genaro Alberto Olivieri 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
Daniel Altmaier, who won the fifth longest match in the history of Roland Garros in the last round, succumbed in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov.
The Bulgarian next faces Alexander Zverev, who edged out Frances Tiafoe of the US 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
“It’s been the hardest year of my life,” German 22nd seed Zverev said. “I’m so happy to be back.”
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