Reigning champion Swiatek beats Svitolina to reach French Open semis
Swiatek bested the former world number three 6-1, 7-5 in just over 90 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier to continue her bid to equal a 102-year record by winning four successive French Open titles.
The Polish fifth seed will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals after the Belarusian earlier bested Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the last eight.
"Aryna is always a challenge, she has a game for every surface. I need to focus on myself, do the work and just go for it," said Swiatek.
The rivals have never met at Roland Garros, but Swiatek emerged the victor in their last two meetings on clay -- in the finals of the Madrid and Italian Opens last season.
"It's going to be a tough match but I'm happy for the challenge," the 24-year-old added.
After starting sluggishly in her fourth-round win over former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina, where Swiatek found herself 6-1, 2-0 down before kicking into gear, she hit the ground running on Tuesday.
Swiatek broke Svitolina's serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead, before outlasting her opponent in two lengthy, tightly-contested games to consolidate her advantage.
The five-time Grand Slam winner then served out the opener to 15 on a gusty centre court in Paris.
The pair exchanged consecutive breaks of serve early in the second set, but neither could seize the advantage until Swiatek forced the breakthrough at 5-5 with a powerful forehand down the line.
Swiatek showed her killer instinct by holding again to 15 and sealing the win with back-to-back aces.
Defeat for Svitolina means the 30-year-old Ukrainian has never progressed further than the quarter-finals at Roland Garros despite reaching the last-eight stage five times in her career.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
6 hours ago
- LeMonde
French Open: Djokovic beats Zverev and will face Sinner in semi-finals
Novak Djokovic brought his run at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title to the semi-final stage at Roland Garros on Wednesday, June 4, as he edged out Alexander Zverev in a tense last-eight battle. The 38-year-old fought past third seed Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in a night session duel, which captivated Court Philippe Chatrier over three-and-a-quarter hours. Sixth seed Djokovic moves on to face world number one Jannik Sinner in the last four, after the Italian earlier raced past the unseeded Alexander Bublik in straight sets. "Matches like this is one of the reasons I carry on playing and I love the competition," said Djokovic. On center court, last year's runner-up Zverev roared out of the blocks with a break of serve in the very first game. That game proved the difference-maker as the only other break point generated in the entirety of the rest of the set was saved by the German as he served out the opener. It was the first time former world number one Djokovic has dropped a set at the French Open this year. But the 24-time major winner did not dwell on that fact. The second set continued where the first had left off, until Djokovic engineered himself a 3-1 lead after Zverev pushed a backhand long when serving at 30-40. The next game then produced just the second deuce of the match so far as both players began to make headway on the other's service. Djokovic eventually consolidated a crucial hold with an ace to end the game, which lasted nearly nine minutes. The rest of the set continued like a mirror image of the first, with Zverev battling hard but being unable to muster up many break opportunities on Djokovic's serve. Drop shots The set was sealed at the third time of asking as the three-time Roland Garros champion executed an immaculate backhand drop-shot to conclude a spectacular rally, replete with drop-shots, overheads and net cords. The Serb sniffed out a break opportunity in game five of the third set and snaffled it after a couple of deuces with a delightful drop-shot to earn advantage, before Zverev planted a forehand in the tramlines. With a player for the first time in the ascendancy in the match, Djokovic doubled his advantage when a Zverev volley dropped agonisingly long of the baseline, with his opponent stranded in the service box. The sudden swing to Djokovic's favour seemed to destabilise the 28-year-old as he started the next game with an attempted dropper that nestled in the bottom of the net as Djokovic moved into a 2-1 lead to love. Still on a high, Djokovic started the fourth by again breaking the big-serving Hamburg-native. He brought Chatrier to its feet when he whipped a cross-court forehand past Zverev to save break point in the sixth game at the end of an exchange that the 1.98m German looked certain to win on at least three occasions. Zverev appeared a defeated man when he eventually passed up that chance at a vital break-back with a netted forehand. Djokovic marched on and sealed his 101st win at the French Open, raising his arms aloft in triumph after finally converting match point at the fifth time of asking. Defeat at the quarter-final stage of the tournament in which he has reached at least the last four every year since 2021 brings an end to a disappointing clay-court season for Zverev. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up endured early exits at the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, as well as in the last eight in Rome.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Djokovic defeats Zverev at French open, inches closer to 25th Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic said beating Alexander Zverev on Wednesday was a "testament" to his ability to compete at the highest level as the 38-year-old reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros to inch closer to a record 25th Grand Slam title. Djokovic fought past third seed Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in a gruelling night session duel, which captivated Court Philippe Chatrier over three-and-a-quarter hours. The 24-time Grand Slam winner moves on to face world number one Jannik Sinner in the last four, after the Italian earlier raced past the unseeded Alexander Bublik in straight sets. "Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years," said Djokovic. "It's going to be of course semi-finals of a Grand Slam against the No. 1 in the world. There is no bigger occasion for me, so I'll try to do my best to step it up and perform as well as I did tonight. "I just hope that I will be able to physically keep up, you know, with Sinner in few days' time. It's a big challenge for me." On centre court, last year's runner-up Zverev roared out of the blocks with an immediate break of serve as he clinched the opener against Djokovic. It was the first time former world number one Djokovic has dropped a set at the French Open this year. 01:55 'Forget the age' Djokovic engineered himself a 3-1 lead in the second set after Zverev pushed a backhand long when serving at 30-40. The three-time Roland Garros champion then held firm through the rest of the frame to level the match as he started to punish the 1.98m-Zverev with drop-shots. The Serb sniffed out a break opportunity in game five of the third set and snaffled it, before again breaking the German as he took control of the encounter. Now on a high, Djokovic started the fourth by again pouncing on his opponent's usually reliable serve. He brought Chatrier to its feet when he whipped a cross-court forehand past Zverev to save break point in the sixth game at the end of an exchange that the 28-year-old looked certain to win on at least three occasions. Zverev appeared a defeated man when he eventually passed up that chance at a vital break-back with a netted forehand. Djokovic marched on and sealed his 101st win at the French Open, raising his arms aloft in triumph after finally converting match point at the fifth time of asking. "It was an amazing match," summarised Djokovic. "Obviously beating one of the best players in the world on the biggest stages is something that I definitely work for, and I still, you know, push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kind of matches and these kind of experiences. "It's a proven kind of testament to myself that I can and to others that I can still play on the highest level." A poor run of form earlier in the season and his advancing years had some questioning whether Djokovic could still match his younger rivals. But he had a response for his doubters: "I think the win against (Carlos) Alcaraz in quarters of Australian Open (2025), to win quarters against Zverev tonight proves to myself and others that I can still play on the highest level, and I just thrive on these occasions." A sentiment echoed by Zverev. "I think at the moment he's a bit underrated, to be honest," Zverev said of Djokovic. "I think like a lot of people count him out already, but this year he's had wins over Carlos at the Australian Open, he has had a win over me at the French Open. Forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results." Defeat at the quarter-final stage of the tournament in which he has reached at least the last four every year since 2021 brings an end to a disappointing clay-court season for Zverev. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up endured early exits at the Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, as well as in the last eight in Rome.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Hobson blazes to 200m free victory at US Swim Championships
Hobson, bronze medallist in the 200m free at the Paris Olympics last year, became the fifth-fastest performer in history in the event, joining superstar Michael Phelps as the only Americans to break 1min 44sec. "That was awesome -- 1:43 has kind of been a goal of mine for a couple of years now," Hobson told broadcaster Peacock. "And just to have it happen here -- I'm super-excited and looking forward to Singapore." Gabriel Jett finished second in 1:44.70 to punch his ticket to Singapore, where the world championships run July 11-August 3. In the women's 200m free, 18-year-old Claire Weinstein surged late to turn the tables on superstar Katie Ledecky, winning in 1:54.92 -- the fastest time in the world this year -- as Ledecky finished second in 1:55.26. Nine-time Olympic gold medallist Ledecky had already booked a trip to a seventh world championships with a scintillating victory over Weinstein in the 800m free. Torri Huske, the 100m butterfly gold medallist at the Paris Olympics last year, was third to put herself in the mix for a coveted relay spot at worlds. Claire Curzan, a six-time world champion who failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, continued her return to form with a victory in the women's 200m backstroke, clocking 2:05.09 to beat former world record-holder Regan Smith (2:05.84). Gretchen Walsh lowered her own American record in winning the 50m butterfly with a victory in 24.66sec, with Kate Douglass second in 25.39. "I wanted to go best time, so that would have been anther American record, but I didn't expect to break it by that much, so I'm really happy at the time and just my progression in that event overall," said Walsh, the 100m butterfly world record-holder who inched closer to Sarah Sjostrom's 50m fly world mark of 24.43sec. In other events, Jack Aikens, who missed out on a trip to Paris last year, posted a career-best 1:54.25 to win the men's 200m backstroke, the fastest time in the world this year. Keaton Jones was second in 1:54.85. Douglass, the Paris Olympics gold medallist in the women's 200m breaststroke, won that event in 2:21.45 with Alex Walsh second in 2:22.45. Josh Matheny won the men's 200m breaststroke in 2:08.87 with AJ Pouch second in 2:09.31 and Dare Rose won the men's 50m fly in 23.06, 15-hundredths of a second ahead of Michael Andrew.
