French Open: Swiatek reaches quarter-finals after scare while Sabalenka powers through
Iga Swiatek's reign on the clay courts of Roland Garros was given a scare by Elena Rybakina on Sunday before the four-time French Open champion emerged victorious once again.
The Pole fifth seed has struggled for form of late – failing to defend both her Madrid and Rome titles – and went into her favourite tournament ranked outside the top two for the first time since March 2022.
Swiatek came through the first three rounds in Paris without dropping a set, including a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
But that soon changed on Court Philipe Chatrier as she found herself a set and a break down against the 12th-seeded Kazakh.
Swiatek, though, showed her mettle by launching a comeback that ended in a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory and keeps her on track for a fourth French Open title in a row.
'Well, it was tough,' said the 24-year-old who reached the quarter-finals for a sixth consecutive year. 'First set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner.
'She really pushed me. I needed to do something to get back into the game – with her playing like that I didn't have a lot of hope.
'At the end, I was able to play my game, and I am super happy.'
Swiatek now holds a 5-4 head-to-head record over Rybakina, after claiming her first victory against the 25-year-old on the red dirt.
'I wouldn't say perfect,' added Swiatek when asked about her performance. 'I don't think I have double-faulted three times in one game. It was not easy.
'We played pretty amazing. It is tough to play here, and it means a lot to win this match and I am through.'
Next up for Swiatek will be Elina Svitolina who survived three match points before overcoming last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6, 6-1.
The Italian fourth seed went into the match on the back of a career-best nine-match winning streak, including a run to the title on clay at the Italian Open.
And Paolini will be frustrated not to have maintained that momentum after missing a hat-trick of chances to beat the Ukrainian 18th seed and seal a last-eight spot.
'I would've never believed this match would swing my way,' Svitolina admitted. 'It was a really difficult match, Jasmine was playing really, really well. It was really tough. I had to fight until the last point and I'm very happy to be in the next round.
'Of course it's one or two points which decided the second set. I was really pleased to win the second set and played really well to close the match.
'We are at a Grand Slam so everyone is playing very well and everyone is fighting. It's all about trying to stay focused and finding the opportunities.'
There were no such problems for world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka who reached her 10th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final with a straight-sets win over Amanda Anisimova of the US.
The Belarusian battled through a tight opening set against the American 16th seed and then needed eight match points to clinch a 7-5, 6-3 victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Sabalenka, who was the pre-tournament favourite, will face Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the last eight after the Chinese star edged past Russia's Liudmila Samsonova 7-6, 1-6, 6-3.
Zheng beat Sabalenka for the first time in their seven meetings in the Italian Open quarter-finals in the build-up to Roland Garros.
The Belarusian was knocked out at the same stage last year in Paris when she lost in three sets to Paolini.
'I definitely learnt the lessons from last year and will do my best to make sure I'm healthy and fit for the quarter-finals,' said the three-time Grand Slam champion.
'I'm super hungry for this tournament. I love this place and I want to stay here until the very last day. I'll go out and do my very, very best.'
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