IMAGES from the French Open played at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Sunday.
Sabalenka crushes Anisimova to move into quarters
World number one Aryna Sabalenka was briefly troubled in the first set before battling past 16th-seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the French Open quarter-finals and improve her losing record against the American.
The Belarusian three-time Grand Slam champion, who now has more match straight set wins this year (33) than any other player has tour wins, will take on China's seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals.
"She is a great player, a tough one," Sabalenka said in a post-match interview.
"We had tough battles in the past. Honestly I was so focused, put as much pressure on her, change some rhythm. I am super happy with the win. She challenged me a lot."
Sabalenka is now the first player to reach the quarter-finals in 10 consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams between 2014-17.
"I am super hungry for this tournament. I want to stay until the very last day," she said.
The top seed went into the match with a 2-5 win-loss record against the 16th-seed Anisimova and a 1-3 record on clay in their previous matches.
She broke the American twice to race to a 4-1 lead.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who has never won the French Open, carved out a set point on her serve at 5-3 but Anisimova, a semi-finalist in Paris in 2019, hung in to level before her opponent recovered to win the first set.
The top seed then powered to a 3-0 lead, with Anisimova landing a warning for throwing her racket as her frustration boiled over.
Sabalenka racked up the pressure, firing three aces to move 5-2 clear but Anisimova, with her back to the wall, valiantly saved six match points to hold.
She saved another on her opponent's serve but Sabalenka finished the job on the eighth opportunity with a fierce backhand down the line.
Swiatek digs deep to reach last eight
Four-times champion Iga Swiatek clawed her way back from the brink to qualify for the French Open quarter-finals as she beat her clay court nemesis Elena Rybakina after a high-octane decider on Sunday.
The fifth-seeded Pole looked out of sorts as she trailed 6-1 2-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier, leaving the crowd stunned, but Swiatek found her groove and some grit to prevail 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The 12th-seeded Rybakina made a bullet start, putting Swiatek on the back foot with some powerful baseline play and racing to a 5-0 lead, threatening to inflict on the former world number one her first bagel at a Grand Slam.
"It was as if I was playing (men's world number one and heavy hitter) Jannik Sinner," Swiatek joked.
She faces 13th seed Elina Svitolina in the quarters.
Zheng subdues Samsonova to reach maiden French Open quarter-final
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen continued her French Open campaign in battling fashion as the Chinese eighth seed overcame Russia's Liudmila Samsonova 7-6(5) 1-6 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Zheng swapped a pair of breaks with her 19th-seeded opponent in the opening set and fought back from 4-2 down in the tiebreak to get her nose in front before allowing big-hitting Samsonova to hold in a tense first game of the second set.
The Russian broke to love in the next game and struck again later to draw level in the match, leaving Zheng with a big fight on her hands to reach her maiden Roland Garros quarter-final at the site of her Paris Games triumph last year.
Zheng showed the mettle of a gold medallist, however, as the 22-year-old broke for a 4-2 lead and shrugged off a poor service game to get ahead 5-3 before securing victory when Samsonova made an unforced error.
"Right now I feel incredible because I've been dreaming of reaching this stage, it did not happen in 2023 and 2024. I have no words to describe my emotions right now," said Zheng, who dropped to the ground in celebration.
"The crowd helped me a lot, they gave me a lot of energy. I like to play in front of a lot of people. It gives me a lot of motivation. I hope I can stay longer in Roland Garros.
"It was an intense match. She put me under a lot of pressure and I ran a lot behind the baseline. But I have a lot of energy. I can play five sets if needed. My body is feeling great and I will push till the end.
Zheng takes on either world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Amanda Anisimova in the next round.
A determined Elina Svitolina battled from the brink of defeat to overcome last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-1 and reach the French Open quarter-finals after a thoroughly entertaining battle on Sunday.
Victory came the hard way for Svitolina, who saved three match points in the second set to force a decider. She raised her level from there to earn a last-eight encounter with either 12th seed Elena Rybakina or defending champion Iga Swiatek.
"I still can't believe this match finished my way, my head is still in it, in a big battle," said 30-year-old Ukrainian Svitolina, who shed tears of joy after the win.
"Jasmine was playing really well and it was really tough. In the end, I'm happy I could stay composed and fight till the very end. Here I am in the next round.
"I had to be aggressive, stay focused on my gameplan and take small opportunities to win the second set. It was one or two points that decided it and I'm pleased I could win it. In the third set I played really well to close the match."
Fourth-seeded Paolini twice swapped breaks with Svitolina before holding to love in the ninth game of the match and pouncing to claim the opening set with a scorching forehand winner in the next game.
The diminutive Italian grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second set but 13th seed Svitolina did not let her challenge fade on Court Philippe Chatrier as she recovered two breaks and saved two match points to make it 5-5 before forcing a tiebreak.
The 29-year-old Paolini responded bravely after going 4-1 down and wasted another match point as Svitolina went on to level the contest and pump her fists to loud cheers, before using the momentum to get her nose in front in the decider.
Svitolina pulled away by winning four games in a row before her opponent got on the board and she promptly completed the victory with a searing backhand winner to reach the quarter-finals of Roland Garros for a fifth time.
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