Rybakina faces Ostapenko in French Open duel of hard-hitters
PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) - The French Open third round begins on Friday with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and four-times winner Iga Swiatek in action while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz continues his quest for a fifth Grand Slam crown.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: ELENA RYBAKINA V JELENA OSTAPENKO
Two former Grand Slam champions clash when the big-serving Rybakina takes on the big-hitting Ostapenko, who will look to improve a head-to-head record that has not gone in her favour.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina has a 3-2 record against 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, beating her in their last three matches.
Rybakina arrived at Roland Garros after winning the Strasbourg Open, looking back to her best in time for the major.
But Ostapenko has shown good form on clay this season too, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to win the Stuttgart Open last month.
"Dangerous opponent. She hits the ball really hard, she can be very aggressive. So I will definitely need to focus a lot on my serve, be focused, be solid, patient, take the chances when I get them," Rybakina said of her Latvian opponent.
"If I serve well, (if) I have a good placement, it's not easy to return no matter who's on the other side."
TOP MEN'S MATCH: DAMIR DZUMHUR V CARLOS ALCARAZ
Dzumhur has never played Alcaraz on the ATP Tour but the pair did meet in a Challenger Tour final in 2020 where the Spaniard fought back from a set down to win the title on home turf in Barcelona.
While Alcaraz has seen his career trajectory climb steeply since, Dzumhur has had his ups and downs and sits 69th in the rankings.
The Bosnian suffered a fall during his victory over Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the previous round.
"Regarding the knee, I asked the physio if I just hit (it), if it was just a bruise," said the 33-year-old who needed treatment. "If I cannot make it worse."
Alcaraz also stumbled in his second-round match when he dropped a set but the Spaniard is not too worried.
"In general, if I lose the focus in Grand Slams, in best-of-five matches, much better to refocus your attention," he said.
"So you have more time, you have more sets just to be back if you lose your focus a bit."
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Olga Danilovic (Serbia)
Quentin Halys (France) v 10-Holger Rune (Denmark)
4-Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v Yuliia Starodubtseva (Ukraine)
Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia & Herzegovina) v 2-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
8-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v Mariano Navone (Argentina)
Jaqueline Cristian (Romania) v 5-Iga Swiatek (Poland)
12-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v 21-Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
15-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v 23-Sebastian Korda (U.S.)
COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
Victoria Mboko (Canada) v 8-Zheng Qinwen (China)
24-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v 12-Tommy Paul (U.S.)
13-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v Matteo Gigante (Gigante)
Bernarda Pera (U.S.) v 13-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
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