Defending champion Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth French Open title when the Polish fifth seed overcame Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5 to reach the Roland Garros fourth round on a steamy Friday.
With temperatures steadily soaring on the sixth day of the Grand Slam, Swiatek appeared in a hurry to escape the Parisian furnace and the five-time major winner raced through the first set on the back of two breaks.
What followed was a high-quality battle where both players tested each other before Swiatek prevailed after keeping cool in the final game of the second set.
“I’m just happy that I was super solid in that last game and did not give her any free points,” said Swiatek.
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“She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I’m happy with my performance.”
Swiatek cooled herself with ice towels after the first set before coming under pressure from unseeded Romanian Cristian on Court Suzanne Lenglen in the second set, but the 23-year-old produced a tight hold in the third game.
Both players went toe-to-toe from there and Cristian hit a stinging forehand winner to level up at 4-4, raising her level again to hold serve two games later and prolonging Swiatek’s stay on the court.
Roared on by fans, Swiatek held her nerve in a tense 12th game that had three deuces, before suddenly moving through the gears to quell the challenge of the free-swinging Cristian in nearly two hours.
Kazakh Elena Rybakina’s claycourt form showed no sign of dipping as she brushed aside former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a duel of heavy hitters to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday.
The 12th-seeded Rybakina, who came to Roland Garros fresh 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 line on the first match point.
Fourth seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy eased past Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets on Friday to reach the French Open fourth round.
Starodubtseva, looking to earn her first career win over a top 10 player, was no match for last year’s French Open finalist who will next face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Bernarda Pera.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com