Iga Swiatek has won her last 31 matches and not lost a set in her last 10 after beating Danka Kovinic
| Events: May 22 – June 5 Venue: Roland Garros, Paris |
| Cover: Live text and radio commentary from selected matches on ` Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, the ` Sport website and app |
Hot favorite Iga Swiatek passed her toughest test yet to reach the French Open round of 16 while the draw remained open for her in Paris.
The world number one defeated Danka Kovinic from Montenegro 6:3, 7:5.
The 20-year-old from Poland may not have reached the level of her previous two wins but still had too much quality for the world No. 95.
She is now the only top-10 seed in the women’s draw after the elimination of Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa on Saturday.
Seventh-placed Sabalenka was beaten by Italy’s Camila Giorgi 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, while third-placed Spain’s Badosa retired injured while trailing Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 2-1.
Swiatek meets Chinese world No. 74 Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round.
The 2020 champions, who extended their winning streak to 31 games, are yet to meet a seeded player at Roland Garros this year.
“I wanted to play aggressively and sometimes I thought I was exerting too much power. Sometimes it was hard to control the full tempo,” said Swiatek, who had to break her serve three times from Kovinic.
“I tried to play at a slower pace and be more consistent in rallies. She did a good job defending and hitting back at full speed.”
After quick victories against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko and USA’s Alison Riske, the game against Kovinic required a bit more problem solving.
The 27-year-old Montenegrin is an aggressive baseline player who has managed to push Swiatek deeper than her previous opponents and forced the top seed to make more mistakes than before.
That was first evident in a second game where wayward hitting helped Swiatek fail to score their first four break points.
The pressure eventually took its toll on Kovinic as Swiatek countered and then led 3-0, although she didn’t run away with the first set like the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier had imagined.
Four more unforced errors of her normally infallible forehand handed Kovinic the break to make it 4-3, but her recklessness returned to regain the lead in the next game and serve up the opening set.
In the second set there were more difficulties to overcome.
From 4-1 down, Kovinic fought back with four games – including two breaks – as she pressured Swiatek’s second serve and reaped the rewards.
However, she lost serve 5-5 from 30-0 and Swiatek played out the match to reach the second week of a Grand Slam event for the eighth time in the last nine Majors.
Wildcard Jeanjean’s run ended with Begu
China’s Zheng – a girls’ semifinalist in Paris in 2019 – was setting up her fourth-round meeting with Swiatek after her French opponent Alize Cornet resigned, trailing 6-0-3-0.
Placeholders elsewhere Leolia jean jeans Run at Roland Garros ended in the third round when she was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Romania Irina-Camelia Begu.
Jeanjean, ranked 227th in the world, had stunned eighth seed Karolina Pliskova in the preliminary round in what she called a victory that would “change everything”.
Reaching the third round, she became the first wildcard in 34 years to make it into the last 32, but slipped 5-0 in the opener.
However, despite her dominant performance, Begu didn’t quite have her way, as as she led the second set 5-1, Jeanjean made a late comeback, winning three straight games and saving three match points before Begu claimed the win.
“In the end I was shaking a bit,” said the world number 63, who is in the fourth round for the first time since 2016.
Russian former quarterfinalist Daria Kasatkina – compete under a neutral flag because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – beat the Americans Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-2 while American Jessica Pegula hit Tamara Zidansk 6-1 7-6 (7-2).
Madison key came back from a set to hit Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan after a tie-break in the last set 3: 6, 6: 1, 7: 6 (10: 3). The 22nd seed American meets Kudermetova for a spot in the last eight.
Who can stop Swiatek?
Never before has the number one player been the only top 10 seed left in a Grand Slam draw ahead of week two. Up until Swiatek’s march to the fourth round of Roland Garros, leaving her with a seemingly easy path to a second French Open title.
In 2018, seventh seed Karolina Pliskova was the only top-10 seed to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon, while third seed Marcelo Rios was the only one to reach the men’s last 16 in Paris 1998.
But who could stop Swiatek from winning their sixth consecutive tournament?
Beat 19-year-old Zheng, who doesn’t seem impressed with her French Open debut, and the Pole is likely to face Pegula in the quarters, a player she’s beaten before. That victory for the American came in Washington in 2019, although Swiatek faced each other in the Miami semifinals earlier this year.
Pegula has already reached a clay final this season, losing to Ons Jabeur at the Madrid Open, while Jil Teichmann – who also remains in the Roland Garros draw – reached the semifinals in the Spanish capital.
After Pegula, Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez is the second tallest player to remain in the draw at No. 17.
In the other half of the draw, the US Open runners-up meets Amanda Anisimova – who reached the semis in 2019 – next but wins it and she will meet an unseeded opponent in the last eight for a trip to the semis.
There Fernandez, who lost to Britain’s Emma Raducanu in last year’s US Open final, could face fellow teenage girl Coco Gauff, who will be looking to improve on her quarterfinals last year.
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