Latest news with #JelenaOstapenko
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Iga Swiatek's bid for fifth French Open boosted by win and Jelena Ostapenko exit
Iga Swiatek remains on course for a fifth French Open title after a major obstacle was removed from her path. Swiatek swept into the fourth round and has yet to drop a set after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5. Advertisement The defending champion feared she would meet her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, who has remarkably beaten Swiatek in all six of their career meetings. But Latvian Ostapenko, the 2017 winner in Paris, was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Elena Rybakina to rob Roland Garros of a grudge match for the ages in the last 16. Asked if she had a preference about who to play, while the Ostapenko match was still in progress, Swiatek smiled: 'No. Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really. Oh my God. I couldn't play poker!' Swiatek is without a title since this time last year and has slipped to number five in the world. Advertisement But the Pole has yet to run into any difficulty as she stretched her winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player by some distance, is many people's favourite to win her first French Open title. But the Belarusian was keen to heap the pressure on to Swiatek's shoulders after beating Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3. 'It's tough to predict in woman's tennis, you know,' she said. Advertisement 'Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, right? I will just leave it for her.' Sabalenka will face American Amanda Anisimova, the 16th seed, on Sunday. Last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed from Italy, is through after a 6-4 6-1 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva Aryna Sabalenka celebrates beating Serbia's Olga Danilovic (Lindsey Wasson/AP) Qinwen Zheng's match with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko was temporarily halted after a spectator injured themselves in the stands. Advertisement The Chinese eighth seed was a set and a break up at the time and eventually won 6-4 6-3. In the men's draw, American 12th seed Tommy Paul came through his second five-setter this week, beating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7) 3-6 6-3. Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti dropped the first set against Argentina's Mariano Navone but went through in four. In the night match, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz also needed four sets to beat Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. Advertisement The Spaniard won 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 and said: 'The first two sets were under control but then he decided to play deeper and more aggressive. 'My energy went down but I had to give everything I had inside. I'm proud to get the win in the end. 'That's why it's difficult to win grand slams, because you have to keep your focus over three or four hours.' French 14th seed Arthur Fils has withdrawn from the tournament with a back injury, giving Russia's Andrey Rublev a walkover into round four.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
She's no poker player but Iga Swiatek's hand has improved at Roland Garros thanks to Jelena Ostapenko losing to Elena Rybakina
Iga or Aryna, that is the question at Roland Garros this year. Who is favourite for the women's title? Do we go with form and plump for Aryna Sabalenka, dominant world No 1 and Madrid champion. Or with the history of Iga Swiatek, in a terrible funk but a four-time champion here, including the last three in a row. The question was put to Sabalenka after her 6-2, 6-3 dismissal of Olga Danilovic, and the Belarusian replied: 'I don't know. It's tough to predict in women's tennis. Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, right? Let's just... I will just leave it for her.' This reporter is inclined to agree with Sabalenka — because of one result on Friday. Not Swiatek's 6-2, 7-5 win over Jaqueline Cristian but Elena Rybakina's defeat of Jelena Ostapenko. That means Swiatek faces Rybakina in the fourth round on Sunday, rather than her kryptonite match-up with Ostapenko. The diminutive Latvian has won all six of their previous meetings. Ostapenko's clash with Rybakina was still going on when Swiatek spoke to the press, and the Pole was asked whether she had a preference on her opponent in the next round. She attempted the usual pat answer but could not keep a straight face. 'No,' she said, before dissolving into laughter. 'Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn't play poker.' Maybe not but she plays tennis extremely well, and nowhere better than here. A large element of pre-tournament pessimism over her prospects was the presence of Ostapenko in the fourth round. Now she has been removed, the way looks smoother — although 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina presents a tough test. The smart money remains on Sabalenka and Swiatek meeting in the semi-finals here — and the victor going on to claim the title.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Iga Swiatek-Jelena Ostapenko head to head will not grace the French Open this year
Follow The Athletic's French Open coverage Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament in Paris. On day six, a defending champion avoided her nemesis, a world No. 1 learned of her first test, and a dirty towel caused commotion on Court Philippe-Chatrier. After four-time champion Iga Swiatek got past world No. 60 Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets, the tennis world's attention turned to the match that followed hers on Court Suzanne-Lenglen — and to the fourth-round meeting that everyone wanted to see. Nothing against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who faced Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, but Ostapenko's head-to-head with Swiatek has developed into the most compelling non-rivalry in the sport. Ostapenko, a wildly inconsistent player who won her only Grand Slam title here in Paris right years ago, has beaten Swiatek, a five-time major champion and a world No. 1 for over 100 weeks, in all six matches they have played against each other. Advertisement They have still never faced off at Roland Garros, so everything was set up to see whether Swiatek could finally end her hoodoo against the player who seems to live rent-free in her head on her favorite court in the sport. Following her win over Cristian, Swiatek has a 38-2 record through her 40 matches at the French Open, matched only by its seven-time champion Chris Evert in the women's game in the Open Era. When Swiatek arrived for her news conference after beating Cristian, the outcome of the Ostapenko-Rybakina match was not known. Asked if she had a preference about who she'd play next, Swiatek responded by saying no and keeping a completely straight face. A second later, she burst into laughter, adding: 'Am I a good liar?' #Iga #RG2025 — 🎥 (@t15l_videos) May 30, 2025 About half an hour later, Rybakina finished off Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2, and with that, so many tennis fans' dream died. A match between Rybakina and Swiatek is at least likely to be less mercurial: their head-to-head is at 4-4. Hopefully, a Wimbledon champion going up against the winner of the past three French Opens will help to soften the blow of the match that never was. Charlie Eccleshare Holger Rune started this tournament playing on Court 7. For a guy who wants to prove that he is his generation's third member of a Big Three 2.0 with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, that kind of court assignment doesn't sit all that well, even though the world No. 10 has some way to go to even approach the status those other two have in the sport. Rune doesn't mind that assignment too much in Paris, reserving his annoyance for last year's U.S. Open, which put him on a court he deemed so unsatisfactory that he provided his fans with a map to find it. Advertisement The Dane has been on Court Philippe-Chatrier for the two rounds since. He's enjoyed it, except for a while this afternoon. Partly because French opponent Quentin Halys was threatening to knock him out of the tournament, but mostly because a fan didn't like the way Rune put his sweaty, clay-speckled towel back into its box. Here's how the always-entertaining Rune tells the story: 'I put my towel down in the box, and the guy was yelling, aggressive with me. He reached out for me. I thought this was very strange, because I did not do anything against him and he should not interact with a player on the court. It's a bit embarrassing, I think. 'I told the supervisor that I would prefer him not being there, because it was a bit uncomfortable. They said they'd check the video, and, I guess, if it was true what I said they would get him away. I guess they checked, and I didn't see him for the rest of the match.' Rune said Halys apologized to him for the partisan crowd when the match was over. 'I said, 'Don't worry. I don't think it was anything crazy'.' A non-Frenchman, Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, is next for Rune in a match for the clay-court connoisseurs. Matt Futterman So far, it's been plain sailing for the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament. She cruised past world No. 34 Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 Friday in the third round — and that was her closest scoreline yet. Things should now get a bit tougher, with her next opponent being the American No. 16 seed Amanda Anisimova. She too, is yet to drop a set, and has won five of her seven meetings with Sabalenka. Four of those were before Sabalenka had won her first Grand Slam, however, and the Belarusian is a very different player now. Back then, she lacked the variety to change things if getting outgunned by the big-hitting Anisimova. Advertisement But since last year's Italian Open, Sabalenka has embraced variety and touch as parts of her game, becoming a more complete player and offering her different valves for when she needs a release from her usual strategy. This next meeting with Anisimova should provide an opportunity to demonstrate how far she's come — or it could provide Anisimova the opportunity to rubberstamp what's already been an impressive return to the tour since a break to address burnout last year. A win would make this her joint-best run at a Slam since 2019, when she reached the semifinals here in Paris at age 17. Charlie Eccleshare A tennis fan who looked at the draw Friday morning might have pencilled Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia into the fourth round. Medjedovic is a Novak Djokovic project, and Djokovic has said he is headed for big things. He won the Next Gen Finals in 2023, and its champions usually do go on to big things – Alcaraz, Sinner, Tsitsipas. It's taking Medjedovic a little longer to get where he wants to be than it did those guys, but he had gotten off to a promising start here in a section of the draw that got more and more inviting as the first week wore on. He has some of the biggest power in the game, but also can play with an off-speed, junkballing style when he needs to. He had Daniel Altmaier of Germany, a talented clay-court player who dispatched American No. 1 Taylor Fritz in the first round, on Friday for a spot in the second week. For Medjedovic, trouble started early. He called a doctor to the court at 2-1 in the first set and had his blood pressure and vital signs examined. He continued, but something was visibly wrong for the remainder of the match, with the world No. 74 struggling to move around the court and regularly leaning on his racket. Advertisement He won that first set from 4-2 down, but was able to put up only limited resistance the rest of the way, moving little, resorting to every trick he had to extend the match, hoping it might turn around. Medjedovic has form for winning when compromised. He beat Tsitsipas on one leg after pulling a muscle deep in the third set of their match in Doha in February, hobbling between smashing winners as early and often as he could. That was just for a couple of games and a tiebreak, though. Three whole sets on a hot day in Paris is a tougher proposition. This time, in the end, it did not turn around. Those big things will have to wait a little longer. Matt Futterman Sometimes. the official social-media account gets it right. HOW DID RUNE DO THAT?! THIS Holger's around the net post is the shot of the day 🤩 #RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025 Tell us what you noticed on the tournament's sixth day… (Top photo of Iga Swiatek: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Iga Swiatek's French Open hopes given boost as nemesis Jelena Ostapenko exits
Iga Swiatek remains on course for a fifth French Open title after a major obstacle was removed from her path. Swiatek swept into the fourth round and has yet to drop a set after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5. The defending champion feared she would meet her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, who has remarkably beaten Swiatek in all six of their career meetings. But Latvian Ostapenko, the 2017 winner in Paris, was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Elena Rybakina to rob Roland Garros of a grudge match for the ages in the last 16. Asked if she had a preference about who to play, while the Ostapenko match was still in progress, Swiatek smiled: "No. Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really. Oh my God. I couldn't play poker!" Swiatek is without a title since this time last year and has slipped to number five in the world. But the Pole has yet to run into any difficulty as she stretched her winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player by some distance, is many people's favourite to win her first French Open title. But the Belarusian was keen to heap the pressure on to Swiatek's shoulders after beating Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3. "It's tough to predict in woman's tennis, you know," she said. "Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, right? I will just leave it for her." Sabalenka will face American Amanda Anisimova, the 16th seed, on Sunday. Last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed from Italy, is through after a 6-4 6-1 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva Qinwen Zheng 's match with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko was temporarily halted after a spectator injured themselves in the stands. The Chinese eighth seed was a set and a break up at the time and eventually won 6-4 6-3. In the men's draw, American 12th seed Tommy Paul came through his second five-setter this week, beating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7) 3-6 6-3. Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti dropped the first set against Argentina's Mariano Navone but went through in four.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Rybakina through to French Open fourth round as Ostapenko derails
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates winning her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in action during her third round match against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in action during her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates winning her third round match against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS - Kazakh Elena Rybakina's claycourt form showed no sign of dipping as she brushed aside former champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 in a duel of heavy hitters to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. The 12th-seeded Rybakina, who came to Roland Garros fresh from her Strasbourg Open run to the title, was not impressed by Ostapenko's flurry of missiles as she prevailed with a forehand winner down the line on the first match point. "The fast conditions make it difficult to control the ball but it definitely helps for the serve," said Rybakina. "I had some ups and downs but happy with the way it went today." Latvia's Ostapenko, who also had shown good form on clay this season, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to win the Stuttgart Open last month, played her usual roll-the-dice tennis but did not get lucky. The 2017 Roland Garros winner served three aces but eight double faults while her 14 winners could not make up for a staggering 22 unforced errors. Rybakina, who also peppered the court with a high number of unforced errors, will next face four-time champion Iga Swiatek of Poland. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
