PARIS, JUN 2 (IANS): The French Open delivered another day of high drama and historic performances as Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, and Matteo Arnaldi booked their places in the latter stages of the tournament.
Sabalenka overcomes Osaka to extend quarterfinal streak
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka showcased her resilience and power to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling fourth-round clash. Osaka started brightly, breaking Sabalenka early as the Belarusian faltered with five unforced errors, including a costly double fault.
However, Sabalenka quickly regrouped, striking clean forehand winners to level the set before taking control of the match. From that point, she dominated on serve, never facing another break point and rarely being pushed beyond deuce. A tense sixth game in the second set, lasting six minutes, proved pivotal as Sabalenka held firm and then reeled off four consecutive games to seal victory.
The win marks Sabalenka’s 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, underlining her consistency at the highest level. She remains the only player left in the women’s draw with prior major final experience. Her next opponent will be No. 25 seed Diana Shnaider, who advanced to her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal after defeating Madison Keys in three sets.
Andreeva storms past Cirstea into semifinals
Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva produced a ruthless display to dismantle veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 in just 56 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. The 19-year-old Russian, contesting her second Roland Garros semifinal, dictated play from the outset under the closed roof, conceding only nine points in the opening six games.
The match highlighted the stark age disparity between the 19-year-old Andreeva and 36-year-old Cirstea, reminiscent of Martina Navratilova’s clash with Jennifer Capriati at Wimbledon in 1991. Andreeva’s precision and youthful energy proved decisive, as she converted all six break points she created while committing just six unforced errors.
Cirstea managed to hold serve in the second set to level at 3-3, but Andreeva immediately reasserted her dominance, winning the final three games without dropping a point. The Russian’s statistics were emphatic: 18 winners to Cirstea’s 4, and a commanding 34th match win of the season, including team events.
With 20 clay-court victories in 2026, Andreeva leads the WTA Tour in wins on the surface. She now awaits the winner of the quarterfinal between Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk. Andreeva holds a 1-1 record against Svitolina but has lost twice to Kostyuk this season.
Arnaldi stuns Tiafoe in marathon battle
Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi produced one of the tournament’s most dramatic victories, overcoming American Frances Tiafoe in a five-set thriller lasting five hours and 26 minutes. The 25-year-old Italian triumphed 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The marathon match pushed Arnaldi’s total court time at Roland Garros to 17 hours and 42 minutes — nearly two hours longer than any player has ever taken to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since ATP began recording match times in 1991. Tiafoe appeared poised for victory after building a double-break lead in the fourth set, but Arnaldi’s aggressive shot-making carried him through the tiebreak. In the decider, Arnaldi surged ahead 4-2 before Tiafoe clawed back to level at 4-4. The Italian, however, held his nerve, converting his third match point in a rally that saw Tiafoe fall twice in one exchange.
Arnaldi’s victory sets up an all-Italian quarterfinal against Matteo Berrettini. Remarkably, Arnaldi, Berrettini, and Flavio Cobolli have made history as the first Italian trio in the Open Era to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at the same Grand Slam.
Kostyuk creates history with win over Svitolina
Marta Kostyuk created history at Roland Garros by defeating compatriot Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the first all-Ukrainian Grand Slam quarterfinal of the Open Era. The 23-year-old, seeded 15th, secured her maiden Grand Slam semifinal in one hour and 49 minutes, closing the match by winning 13 of the last 14 points. The victory extended her clay-court winning streak to 17 matches, following titles in Rouen and Madrid earlier this season. The match carried emotional significance, coming less than 24 hours after a Russian attack in Ukraine that killed at least 18 people. In her on-court interview, Kostyuk dedicated the win to her country, praising the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
For Svitolina, the defeat marked her sixth French Open quarterfinal loss, leaving her record at 0-6 despite her status as Ukraine’s most accomplished player. Kostyuk improved her head-to-head record against Svitolina to 2-1, avenging her Grand Slam debut loss in 2018. She acknowledged Svitolina’s impact on Ukrainian tennis, calling her an “unbelievable fighter.”
With this victory, Kostyuk became the first Ukrainian woman to reach the Roland Garros semifinals in the Open Era. She will now face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva in a semifinal rematch of the Madrid Open final.
