logo
Swiatek sweeps past Raducanu into French Open third round

Swiatek sweeps past Raducanu into French Open third round

France 2428-05-2025
Poland's Swiatek won 6-1, 6-2 in 79 minutes and will play either Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek or Romania's Jaqueline Cristian for a place in the last 16.
Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win four consecutive French Open titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
"I felt good on court for sure, so I felt I could do whatever I had planned to do or whatever I wanted to do," said Swiatek, who wrapped up victory on her second match point.
"I just had to adjust to the wind because the conditions were pretty tricky today. I'm happy that I did that well and I'm through.
"I think having some time off before helped me a little bit for sure, so I'm just ready to fight for it and compete."
The 23-year-old, who has slipped to fifth in the world rankings, brings her tally to 23 wins in a row at Roland Garros.
"I think it's probably the top spin that I play with," she said.
"Honestly, I just love playing here. This place inspires me and that makes me work harder."
Playing in the tournament for the first time since her debut in 2022, 22-year-old Raducanu suffered her fifth defeat in as many meetings with Swiatek.
© 2025 AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rybakina rips No.1 Sabalenka to book Cincinnati semi with Swiatek
Rybakina rips No.1 Sabalenka to book Cincinnati semi with Swiatek

France 24

time2 days ago

  • France 24

Rybakina rips No.1 Sabalenka to book Cincinnati semi with Swiatek

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner, claimed a fifth victory in her 12-match personal rivalry with the world number one. The victory was revenge for a loss to Sabalenka on Berlin grass two months ago. Rybakina will play in a semi-final against Iga Swiatek, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4. Third-seeded reigning Wimbledon champion Swiatek dominated to break fresh ground at one of the only two 1000-level tournament where she has failed to reach a final Rybakina was helped by 11 aces as she upset Sabalenka to achieve her first Cincinnati semi-final. "I'm happy with the serve. It was the key today," Rybakina said. "I served really well. "If she had been serving well it would have been a totally different match. It was also intense from the baseline. I just hope to continue like this." Rybakina has won her last three matches against Swiatek, all played this season. The Kazakh held her nerve in the second set as Sabalenka delivered a pair of love games, with Rybakina saving a pair of break points with aces to lead by a set and 5-3. Swiatek needed 93 minutes and five match points to get past Kalinskaya and earn revenge for a loss she took in February 2024 in a Dubai semi-final. The former world number one finally moved into the Cincinnati final four on a steamy day after the 34th-ranked Kalinskaya saved four match points in the penultimate game. But third seed Swiatek, enduring 30 Celsius temperatures, finally prevailed to advance to her fourth 1000-level semi-final of the season. "We need to get used to the heat with how the world is changing," the winner of six Grand Slams said. "It's getting worse and worse, I guess." Swiatek, who broke on three of 11 chances in the match, said the contest was "much different" from her loss last season against Kalinskaya. "I just played my game. It was not easy but I'm happy that I stayed solid and kept my intensity," she said. Swiatek heads into the semi-finals with 47 wins and the Wimbledon title in hand this season.

World's first humanoid robot games begin in China
World's first humanoid robot games begin in China

France 24

time2 days ago

  • France 24

World's first humanoid robot games begin in China

Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries are going for gold at the Chinese capital's National Speed Skating Oval, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The games include traditional sports like athletics and basketball, as well as practical tasks such as medicine categorisation and cleaning. "I believe in the next 10 years or so, robots will be basically at the same level as humans," enthusiastic 18-year-old spectator Chen Ruiyuan told AFP. Human athletes might not be quaking in their boots just yet. At one of the first events on Friday morning, five-aside football, 10 robots the size of seven-year-olds shuffled around the pitch, often getting stuck in a scrum or falling over en masse. However, in a 1500-metre race, domestic champion Unitree's humanoids stomped along the track at an impressive clip, easily outpacing their rivals. The fastest robot AFP witnessed finished in 6:29:37, a far cry from the human men's world record of 3:26:00. One mechanical racer barrelled straight into a human operator. The robot remained standing, while the human was knocked flat, though did not appear to be injured. 'National strategy' Robot competitions have been held for decades, but the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games is the first to focus specifically on robots that resemble human bodies, organisers said. The Chinese government has poured support into robotics hoping to lead the industry. Beijing has put humanoids in the "centre of their national strategy", the International Federation of Robotics wrote in a paper on Thursday. "The government wants to showcase its competence and global competitiveness in this field of technology," it added. Authorities are working to raise awareness of the sector across society. Cui Han, accompanying her 10-year-old, told AFP that her son's school had organised and paid for the trip to the Games. "I hope it will encourage him to learn more about these new technologies," she said. In March, China announced plans for a one-trillion-yuan fund to support technology startups, including those in robotics and AI. The country is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, official statistics show, and in April, Beijing held what organisers dubbed the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon. Chen, the spectator, told AFP he was about to begin studying automation at university. "Coming here can cultivate my passion for this field," he said. "My favourite is the boxing, because... it requires a lot of agility and I can really see how the robots have improved from before." Meanwhile, at the kung fu competition area, a pint-sized robot resembling one from the popular Transformer series attempted to execute a move, but fell flat on its front. It spun around on the floor as it struggled to get back up, the crowd happily cheering. © 2025 AFP

Lyles v Thompson in re-run of Olympic 100m final in Silesia
Lyles v Thompson in re-run of Olympic 100m final in Silesia

France 24

time3 days ago

  • France 24

Lyles v Thompson in re-run of Olympic 100m final in Silesia

As athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September's world championships in Tokyo, Lyles headlines a raft of stars from track and field on show in southwest Poland. Here, AFP Sport looks at four talking points at the 12th meeting of the 15-event Diamond League circuit at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia: Lyles v Thompson in Paris rematch Lyles sealed Olympic gold in the blue riband event in Paris last year by the closest of margins, pipping Thompson by just five-thousandeths of a second for victory. It remained a remarkable result for the Jamaican, who missed the cut for the 2023 world championships in Budapest. This year, however, he clocked a world-leading 9.75sec at the Jamaican trials in June, a time which puts him sixth on the all-time list. Lyles will be keen to bounce back after his surprise 100m defeat to another Jamaican, Oblique Seville, at the London Diamond League meet. The American will have to compete not just with Thompson, but also a quartet of tested US teammates in the shape of Kenny Bednarek, Christian Coleman, Lindsey Courtney and Trayvon Bromell, as well as South African Akani Simbine. There is some added spice after Lyles and Bednarek clashed in the US trials after the former won the 200m in a world lead time of 19.63sec. Bednarek accused Lyles of "unsportsmanlike" conduct after he turned his head to stare down his rival as he took the tape. Coleman and Richardson on the card While Coleman bids to upset Lyles, also running in the women's 100m is his partner Sha'Carri Richardson, the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist. Richardson found herself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons after being arrested for domestic violence after shoving Coleman at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last month. Both competed days later at the US championships in Eugene, Oregon, where Coleman, who reportedly did not press charges, said she should not have been arrested. Richardson duly apologised, saying that she held herself "accountable". The women's 100m sees the presence of Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who won a sprint double at the US trials, as well as Briton Dina Asher-Smith and the Jamaican Clayton twins, Tina and Tia. Unstoppable Duplantis Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis bettered his pole vault world record by a centimetre on Tuesday, clearing 6.29 metres in Budapest. It was the US-born Swede's 13th time he had set a world record as he soared over the bar at the second attempt to improve on his 6.28m from Stockholm in June. He first broke the world record in 2020 with 6.17m. It was also the 25-year-old's third record of 2025 having initially raised the bar to 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand in February. His rivals in Poland will be hoping for a rare off-day to get anywhere near topping the podium given that at last year's Diamond League meeting in Silesia, it was none other than Duplantis who stole the headlines with a then-world record of 6.26m. Kipyegon eyes WR, Chebet races 1500m Kenya's Faith Kipyegon will have a tilt at a world record in the 3,000m, a non-Olympic event. Kipyegon, a three-time Olympic gold medallist over 1,500m, has an incredible track record. Her new 1,500m world record of 3:48.68 in the Eugene Diamond League was her fifth at a Diamond League met in the last three seasons. The Kenyan came up short in her specially arranged attempt in June to become the first woman to smash through the four-minute barrier, clocking 4min 06.42sec in Paris. Kipyegon's teammate Beatrice Chebet will instead race the 1,500m, her first over the distance since 2023 and her first ever time at a Diamond League. Chebet has notched up three victories over 5,000m on the circuit this season, but it remains to be seen whether she'll have the speed over the shorter distance against a field that includes Britain's Georgia Hunter Bell and Ethiopian duo Gudaf Tsegay and Diribe Welteji.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store