Sabalenka, Alcaraz face US challengers in French Open round four
May 31 (Reuters) - The French Open fourth round starts on Sunday with women's top seed Aryna Sabalenka and men's defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both facing American opponents, while Iga Swiatek continues her quest for a fourth straight women's singles title.
TOP WOMEN'S MATCH: ARYNA SABALENKA V AMANDA ANISIMOVA
Three-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka has built up to her latest push for a maiden French Open title with a solid run of form in the clay season, winning the Madrid Open and reaching the finals of Stuttgart and Italian Opens.
The 27-year-old is yet to drop a set and did not make a single double fault during Friday's win over Olga Danilovic.
Her toughest test yet comes in the form of American 16th seed Anisimova, who has won five of their seven previous meetings.
Former semi-finalist Anisimova is looking to become a top contender again after taking a break from tennis in 2023 over burnout and mental health concerns.
"We're both pretty big hitters, so I'm sure we're going to be going at it back and forth a bit," the 23-year-old said.
"She is number one.... I really enjoy the fight and the challenge that she brings on."
TOP MEN'S MATCH: BEN SHELTON V CARLOS ALCARAZ
American 12th seed Ben Shelton said he never played a match on red clay before 2023.
The next year, he won his first title on the ATP tour on the surface, and now he has reached the French Open fourth round for the first time, against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
"This is a challenge. Not my natural surface that I grew up playing on, but a surface I want to become great on," the 23-year-old Shelton said.
No American has reached the French Open men's singles final since Andre Agassi in 1999.
"This is a tournament that Americans have not had huge success in... I think this is a really cool opportunity for Americans. You do something big in an event like this, it really means something," he said.
Shelton, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals this year, may prove to be a tough test for Alcaraz, who has dropped a set each in his last two matches.
Four-times French Open champion Iga Swiatek could not keep a straight face when asked if she would prefer her fourth-round opponent to be Jelena Ostapenko, who beat the Polish fifth seed in all six of their previous matches, or Elena Rybakina.
"Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really," Swiatek told reporters, smiling. "Oh, my God. I couldn't play poker."
While Swiatek has avoided another clash with Ostapenko, her quest for a sixth Grand Slam title could face its biggest challenge yet against Kazakhstani 12th seed Rybakina.
Rybakina beat Swiatek both times they met on clay, in 2023 and 2024, in the middle of Swiatek's dominant reign on the surface where she won successive French Open titles. Overall, they are tied on head-to-head after eight meetings.
"Of course, she is very comfortable on these courts. But I think every day, every match is different," Rybakina said.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (Play begins at 0900 GMT)
4-Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v 13-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
12-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v 5-Iga Swiatek (Poland)
13-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v 2-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
8-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v 10-Holger Rune (Denmark)
COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN (Play begins at 0900 GMT)
25-Alexei Popyrin (Australia) v 12-Tommy Paul (U.S.)
19-Liudmila Samsonova (Russia) v 8-Zheng Qinwen (China)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v 16-Amanda Anisimova (U.S.)
15-Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) v Daniel Altmaier (Germany)
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