PARIS – Defending Women’s Champion Iga Swietek joined No. 1 rank Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the French Open on Friday, with neither player dropping the set so far.
Sabalenka is the winner of three Grand Slams that reached the semi-finals at the French Open, beating Olga Danilovich 6-2, 6-3 at Court Philip Chatlier, where the hot weather on Friday was in stark contrast to the previous day.
“The ball flies much faster,” Sabalenka said. “The bounce is much higher.”
Swiatek, who won four of his five major titles for Roland Garros, extended his French Open winning streak to 23 games, beating Suzanne Wren and Jacqueline Christian 6-2, 7-5, 7-5. However, he tested the 23-year-old Polish player in a second set that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.
“She took the chance and went just for that,” Sweet said. “I certainly don’t care. With clay, I give the ball extra bounce.”
Sabalenka and Swiatek had 20 winners and 21 forced errors, but in contrast.
This year, Sabalenka, 27, reached the most singles finals for a woman who joined Roland Garros since Serena Williams in 2013.
However, SwiaTek is aiming to reach her first final since winning her third French Open title last year and fourth overall.
Swiatek is looking to become the first woman to win here four times in a row during her open era. Her first title came in 2020. Her other major took place at the US Open in 2022.
Who is under the most pressure to win this year’s French Open?
Swiatek will face Elena Rybakina, who has kept the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a heavy batsman duel on Friday.
Rybakina, the 12th seed who came to Roland Garros Fresh, who won the title from a Strasbourg open run, was not impressed by the gust of Ostapenko missiles as he won the winner with a forehand winner at the first match point.
“The fast conditions make it difficult to control the ball, but it definitely helps with serves,” Rivakina said.
“I’ve had some ups and downs, but I’m happy with how I do it today.”
In other women’s plays, Italy’s fourth seed Jasmine Paolini relaxed past Ukrainian Yulyastadubutuséva on a straight set.
Starodubtseva was looking to win his first career victory in the top 10 players, but last year’s French open finalist didn’t match against either Ukrainian Erinas Vitorina or American Bernardapera.
“It was a good game after a few games. I didn’t feel very good at first. Today’s conditions are different from previous rounds,” Paolini said, Postmatch.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifying Victoria MBOKO 6-3, 6-4, no. 16Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova have also made progress.
In the remaining third round of women’s play, former US Open champion Kokogoff will face Marie Bözkova at Court Philip Chatelier, who finished runner-up at last year’s US Open, playing former Wimbledon champion Mader Von Trusova in the same courtroom.
There will also be a national contest on Suzanne Rengren Court between current Australian Open Champion Madison Keys and former Australian Open Champion Sophia Kenin, who won that major in 2020.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.