Paris: 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.
“She went for it, and it was a great match. We both played nice and I’m happy with my performance.”
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen charged into the fourth round but Italian Lorenzo Musetti was made to work a little harder to progress.
Sabalenka experienced late resistance in her meeting with unseeded Olga Danilovic but won 6-2 6-3 and kept alive her hopes of winning a maiden Roland Garros trophy after major successes on the hardcourts of the Australian Open and US Open. Zheng continued her good form on Parisian clay as the Chinese eighth seed moved into the second week by beating Grand Slam debutant Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-4.
On the men’s side, eighth seed Musetti dropped the opening set against Mariano Navone of Argentina before he prevailed 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-2.