French Open: Iga Swiatek keeps title defence alive with tenth straight Roland Garros victory
Swiatek recovered from a break down in the opening set to record her tenth successive Roland Garros victory; the eighth seed is one of only three top-10 players left in the women's draw
Saturday 5 June 2021 21:55, UK
Iga Swiatek remains on course to retain her French Open title after breezing into the last 16 with an impressive straight-sets victory over 30th seed Anett Kontaveit.
Kontaveit had won the pair's previous two meetings and she made a blistering start to proceedings on Court Philippe Chatrier, although Swiatek weathered the storm magnificently.
The 20-year-old was the epitome of composure throughout; nullifying Kontaveit's heavy artillery by winning 11 of the final 13 games to record a 7-6 6-0 win in 1 hour and 24 minutes.
The defending champion recovered from a break down to clinch a captivating opening set in a tie-breaker, despite the Estonian registering 23 winners and just 11 unforced errors.
Yet while the first set was a highly-competitive affair, the second was a procession. Swiatek's remarkable rearguard left Kontaveit visibly deflated, and the eighth seed made the solitary unforced error in set two as she sealed the deal in style.
The prodigiously talented Pole has incredibly now won 20 consecutive sets at Roland Garros, and her reward is a last-16 showdown against 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk.
Kostyuk is the youngest woman from Ukraine to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam, following an emphatic 6-1 6-2 win over Russia's Varvara Gracheva.
Svitolina stunned; Stephens shines
Earlier in the day, fifth seed Elina Svitolina became the seventh top-10 player to exit in the women's draw, succumbing in straight sets to Barbora Krejcikova in round three.
Krejcikova struck 38 winners en route to completing a resounding 6-3 6-2 success, breaking Svitolina's serve six times to equal her best run at a Grand Slam singles tournament.
The 25-year-old - who boasts two Grand Slam doubles titles on her résumé - prevailed in a hard-fought opening set featuring a 21-minute hold of serve, which gave her the impetus to wrap up a landmark victory.
She will now face 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens, who continued her impressive run at Roland Garros by dumping out 18th seed Karolina Muchova in straight sets.
Having accounted for ninth seed Karolina Pliskova in round two, Stephens claimed a second consecutive Czech scalp, as she bids to reach the quarter-finals on the Parisian clay for the third time in four years.
The world No 59 was imperious in the serving department, landing 84 per cent of her first serves to close out a 6-3 7-5 victory in 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Kenin and Gauff progress to round four
However, last year's finalist Sofia Kenin avoided becoming yet another high-profile casualty, recovering from a set down to defeat her fellow American Jessica Pegula in an absorbing three-set affair.
Kenin squandered a 3-0 advantage in the opening set, although she delivered an impressive riposte in set two - conceding the solitary game as she dominated proceedings with some blistering groundstrokes.
The fourth seed registered 10 double faults in a rollercoaster contest, but after breaking Pegula twice in the opening three games of the deciding set, she maintained her composure to continue her bid for a second Grand Slam title.
Kenin said: "Leading up it wasn't maybe the best form. But of course I worked hard over the past few weeks and everything is clicking together, which I'm really happy about.
"I feel like my game is not, for example, how it was in the Australian Open 2020 when I won. But, in terms of how I'm playing now, compared to this whole year and since last year's French Open, I feel like it's some good tennis.
"I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Of course it gives me confidence. I'm finally not on a one-match winning streak. We're getting there."
Kenin will meet Greece's Maria Sakkari for a spot in the last eight, after the 17th seed battled past world No 14 Elise Mertens in three sets, to preserve her hopes of reaching a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final.
Coco Gauff is the fourth American through to the last 16, after her third-round opponent Jennifer Brady was forced to retire due to a foot injury.
The Australian Open finalist revealed that she was considering pulling out of the tournament due to the pre-existing issue, but after losing the opening set 6-1 to the 17-year-old American, Brady decided she could no longer continue.
Gauff, who has equalled her best performance at a Grand Slam, now takes on Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, who made it through to the fourth-round for a second straight year after battling past Poland's Magda Linette in three sets.
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