French Open 2025: Iga Świątek outlasts Elena Rybakina to advance to quarterfinals
No. 5 seed Iga Świątek moved closer to winning a fourth consecutive French Open championship, advancing to the quarterfinals after outlasting No. 12 Elena Rybakina in a thrilling three-set match that lasted two and a half hours, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Rybakina won the first set decisively, dominating Świątek with her serve and overpowering on her returns. She also had Świątek running from side-to-side and she looked slow in doing so early in the match. The defending champion showed her frustration with failing to catch up to Rybakina's shots, something of a rarity for a player who shows remarkable calm on the court.
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With the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier cheering for her, Świątek found the energy and movement she lacked in that first set, getting to some tough shots in the corners. As the pace of the match picked up, Świątek appeared to gain speed and evened it with some long rallies.
Elena Rybakina controlled her fourth-round match versus Iga Swiatek at the French Open early on with her serve, But the defending champion eventually found her footwork and created long rallies that tired her opponent out. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(Anadolu via Getty Images)
Rybakina began to falter as Świątek made her work, especially in having to reach for lower returns. Not being able to square up for a shot resulted in a few errors that allowed Świątek to break her serve. Also important for Świątek was finding her backhand, which she had difficulty hitting well in the first set.
Getting to play more proactively, rather than react defensively also made a major difference for Świątek, allowing her to dictate pace. Hitting shots far into the corner, out of from Rybakina's reach, was also a factor in taking control of the match.
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Again, Świątek benefited from long rallies that appeared to tire Rybakina out. When she was dominating with her serve and winning points quickly, Rybakina had Świątek playing defensively. But that changed in the second set and continued into the third. As the match went longer, Świątek seemingly got stronger.
Świątek finally landed the key blow to take a 6-5 lead in the third set when Rybakina attempted a drop shot that didn't land as short as hoped. Świątek was able to get to it and returned a shot that Rybakina couldn't recover, hitting it into the net.
"First set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner," Świątek joked after the match, acknowledging how imposing Rybakina was in taking an early advantage.
Up next for Świątek as she pursues her fifth French Open title is Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. Sviitolina upset Jasmine Paolini in three sets.
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