Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open after beating Naomi Osaka in straight sets in her fourth-round match in Paris.
In the women’s night session match at Roland Garros for the first time in three years, Osaka returned to the court wearing the golden sequined bomber jacket that has become the tournament’s trademark, but was unable to find her tennis spark.
Sabalenka, who has reached at least the quarterfinals in her last 14 Grand Slam appearances, recovered from a shaky start to win 7-5 6-3, setting up a final quarterfinal meeting with 25th seed Diana Shnaider.
“She’s a really good player. She plays very aggressive tennis,” Sabalenka said of Osaka. “I’m happy to be able to take the pressure off of her. It’s amazing to be able to do a night session in front of you all.
“I am very satisfied with my serve. Overall, I am very satisfied with my performance today.”
Osaka opened a 2-0 lead thanks to a double fault from Sabalenka, but the world number one immediately hit back, decisively stealing her opponent’s serve to take a 6-5 lead, before the 16th seed produced a powerful service return that she could not control and her backhand failed to clear the net.
After a hard-fought 3-3 win in the second set, Sabalenka came back to win 4-3, capping a long rally with a subtle half-volley.
Osaka, playing in the fourth round for the first time at Roland-Garros, had no more room to spare and lost the remainder of the match, bowing out to Sabalenka’s first match point over the course of one hour and 27 minutes.
Fourth seed Auger-Aliassime completes Grand Slam quarterfinals
schneider A 6-3 3-6 6-0 win over Madison Keys, the last American woman remaining in the competition, booked a meeting with Sabalenka in the last eight.
In Elswhere, France’s hopes were dashed when Diane Parry lost 6-3, 6-2 to the 114th-ranked Polish player. Maja Čwalinska.
Chwalinska has never advanced beyond the second round at any major, and her performance in Paris through three qualifying rounds is even more impressive.
Cwalinska’s opponent in the quarterfinals Anna Kalinskayabeat Anastasia Potapova 6-4 2-6 7-6 (10-7), after the Australian knocked out defending champion Coco Gauff in the third round.
10th seed in men’s draw Flavio Coboli He beat unseeded American Zachary Svajda 6-2 6-3 6-7(3-7) 7-6(7-5) to reach his second Grand Slam quarterfinal and first quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has appeared in two Grand Slam semifinals, but both came at the US Open.
Italy’s next opponent will be the fourth seed Happy Ogre – AlsoThis comes after the Canadian prospect advanced to the last eight of all four majors with an easy 6-3 7-5 6-1 win over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo. However, they have not yet advanced to the semifinals.
large italian Matteo Berrettini He also defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3 7-6(7-2) 7-6(8-6) to advance to the quarter-finals, and defeated world number one Jannik Sinner in the second round to conclude Argentina’s run in Paris.
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