Paris (France) (AFP) – Aryna Sabalenka overpowered fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the French Open last 16 on Monday, after Matteo Berrettini reached his first major quarter-final in four years. World number one Sabalenka was too strong for a battling Osaka, winning 7-5, 6-3 in the first women’s night-session match in three years on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Belarusian will next face Diana Shnaider after the Russian left-hander beat former Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
Sabalenka is the only Grand Slam champion left in either the men’s or women’s singles draws at Roland Garros as she bids for a maiden title on the Parisian clay, and to banish the memories of her painful loss in last year’s final to Coco Gauff. She has reached the quarter-finals at 14 consecutive major tournaments. “I didn’t expect I would serve that great,” said Sabalenka. “I feel like I’m getting better and better with every match I play and overall I’m super happy with how I played today.”
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Osaka, again sporting the sequined gold dress she likened to the Eiffel Tower at night, had to make do with her best ever run in Paris ending in the last 16. It was the first time that WTA players had featured in the primetime slot since Sabalenka took on Sloane Stephens in the last 16 on June 4, 2023. “I think it was pretty obvious this should be the night’s match,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo told reporters earlier on Monday.
Sabalenka took a tense first set that was largely dominated by serve after the players traded early breaks, courtesy of a crucial break in the 11th game. The top seed then powered through the second set, reeling off the last four games from 3-2 down to secure a third successive victory over Osaka this year. Austrian 28th seed Anastasia Potapova could not back up her win over defending champion Gauff, twice failing to serve for the match in a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10/7) defeat by Anna Kalinskaya. The Russian will next face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska after she continued her remarkable run by cruising past the last remaining French player, Diane Parry, 6-3, 6-2.
“She’s one of the top players in the world. No one knows me, to be honest, so definitely a very challenging one, like every match here,” said Chwalinska of facing Kalinskaya. There was something for the Paris crowd to cheer after Parry’s defeat, though, as Paris Saint-Germain players Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Warren Zaire-Emery, and Bradley Barcola paraded their two Champions League trophies on court after securing a second straight title on Saturday.
– Brilliant Berrettini marches on –
Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, booked his first major quarter-final since the 2022 US Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (8/6) win over Jannik Sinner’s conqueror Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The world number 105 is the lowest-ranked player to reach the Roland Garros men’s last eight since Igor Andreev in 2007. “This (tennis) is the love of my life, I guess, otherwise I wouldn’t keep coming back after all the setbacks, the injuries,” said the Italian, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2021. “There were moments it was really tough to come back and hit a ball…But now I’m back and it’s thanks to them (his team), my character, and my resilience.”
Berrettini is one of only two Grand Slam finalists left in a wide-open men’s draw, alongside Alexander Zverev, after surprise early exits for Sinner and Novak Djokovic. The 30-year-old will next face either American 19th seed Frances Tiafoe or fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Wednesday. Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli overcame some late nerves to beat Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) on Court Philippe Chatrier. Cobolli wobbled badly from 4-0 and 5-1 up in the fourth set, before finally getting over the line in a tie-break to reach his second Grand Slam quarter-final after Wimbledon last year. “The match is never done and today I almost shit in my pants,” said Cobolli. “I’m happy but I’m still nervous.” The 24-year-old will battle fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime for a semi-final berth.
World number six Auger-Aliassime is the highest-ranked player left in the top half of the men’s draw and he laid down a marker with a dominant 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 success against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
© 2024 AFP
