Easy wins for Swiatek and young guns, furious Rublev falls at French Open

 

[June 01, 2024]  By Shrivathsa Sridhar

PARIS (Reuters) -Iga Swiatek kept her cool to breeze into the French Open fourth round on another damp day at Roland Garros on Friday but the red mist descended on Andrey Rublev who raged and ranted before becoming the highest men's seed to crash out.

Carlos Alcaraz got closer to his best level after a recent arm injury by beating American Sebastian Korda 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3 while fellow Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova saw off Chloe Paquet 6-1 6-3 after a scare in the previous round.

Three-times champion Swiatek could not have asked for a more fitting venue than Court Philippe Chatrier to celebrate her 23rd birthday and the top seed from Poland gave herself the perfect gift with a 6-4 6-2 thumping of Czech Marie Bouzkova.

"I was waiting until after the match to feel that I have a birthday, because I knew that I need to focus on my work because if I would lose, it would be a total disaster," said Swiatek, who beamed as the crowd sang to her.

"I'm happy that I won and I gave myself a present."

Jannik Sinner also soaked up plenty of applause under the roof as the Australian Open champion dismantled Russian Pavel Kotov 6-4 6-4 6-4 while third seed Coco Gauff and eighth seed Ons Jabeur were also home and dry without too much fuss.

As grey clouds gathered over Roland Garros for a sixth day, spectators at Suzanne Lenglen sensed a big storm brewing inside Rublev's head and the sixth seed let his emotions take over in his 7-6(6) 6-2 6-4 defeat by Matteo Arnaldi.

Rublev screamed at himself as the match began to slip away before also throwing his racket on the ground, hitting his legs with it and kicking his courtside bench.

The scenes were reminiscent of the time he bloodied his leg with his racket at the ATP Finals in 2023 and got defaulted two months ago in Dubai for yelling at a line judge.

It was a huge letdown after the 26-year-old's talent took the spotlight in a run to the Madrid title, raising hopes that a maiden Grand Slam crown was within his grasp after reaching the last eight at the majors 10 times.

"Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed and I don't remember behaving worse in a Grand Slam ever," a remorseful Rublev said.

"I think it was first time I've behaved that bad."

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during his third round match against Russia's Pavel Kotov REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

BEST SURFACE

Arnaldi's Italian compatriot Elisabetta Cocciaretto also proved to be a thorn for her fancied opponent as she beat 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-6(4) 6-2 and said clay was the best surface for them to show off their skills.

"Italians, we were born on clay. It's different for the other players, from China and the United States, who were born on hardcourts," Cocciaretto said.

"For us, it's not a comfort zone but our surface."

Jabeur is another player who can work her magic on Parisian dirt and the Tunisian continued her latest quest to become the first Arab and African woman to win a Grand Slam by defeating Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 7-6(5).

While third seed Gauff prevailed after showing some second-set grit in a 6-2 6-4 win over Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska, her fellow American and former runner-up Sofia Kenin crashed to a 6-2 7-5 defeat at the hands of Dane Clara Tauson.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was defeated in the 2021 final, cruised past China's Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-3 6-1 to reach the fourth round for the sixth year in a row.

"I'd assess today's performance as one of the best matches I have played so far in this tournament," Tsitsipas said.

"It's great to see myself in a position to get out there and play so effectively but also accurately at the same time."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris and Clare Fallon)

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