Iga Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth successive French Open title alive as she fought back from a set and a break down to defeat Elena Rybakina on Sunday.
The four-time Roland Garros champion, who has been struggling for her best form and has not reached a final since winning the title last year, was in serious trouble when trailing 2-0 in the second set.
But the 24-year-old dug deep to clinch a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman to win four straight Roland Garros crowns since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
The Pole will next face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who knocked out 2024 losing finalist Jasmine Paolini, in the last eight on Tuesday.
Swiatek is now on a 25-match winning streak at the French Open and boasts a remarkable 39-2 win-loss record in the tournament.
Rybakina had won both of her previous career meetings with Swiatek on clay and the Kazakh dominated the opening set, hammering 12 winners past her bewildered opponent.
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“Well it was tough you know, first set I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner,” said Swiatek.
“I needed to do something to get back in the game, but with her playing like that I didn’t feel like I had much hope.”
Rybakina broke in the first game of the second set as she threatened to run away with the match.
But Swiatek impressively turned the set around with a run of five straight games.
The fifth seed looked to have finally seized total control with a break to lead 4-3 in the deciding set, only to hand it straight back.
Swiatek was one game from defeat when trailing 5-4, but she managed to end Rybakina’s resistance and held her nerve to serve out the match.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com