Swiatek’s French Open Run Ends on Birthday
World number three Iga Swiatek experienced a disappointing 25th birthday as she was defeated by Marta Kostyuk, the Madrid Open champion, with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-1. Swiatek, who had previously won the French Open in 2020 and had consistently reached the latter stages in subsequent years, has seen her dominant clay-court status challenged. After her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title was ended in the semi-finals last year, Swiatek has secured only three titles in the two seasons following her last Parisian victory.
Reflecting on her performance, Swiatek stated, “I feel, like, for sure I lost today because Marta used the opportunity, and I was super tense.” She added, “It is harder a bit to handle stress for me in, like, (the) last year. So I feel like today I felt off, you know, and I did mistakes that I didn’t want to do, and I wanted to play safe, but the ball flew everywhere.” Swiatek described a resurgence of difficult feelings during the match, noting, “Suddenly these feelings came back, and I tried to work on it with my dialogue inside, but it was tough today. Yeah, so it all kind of went drastically down, and I played worse and worse.”
After securing an early break to lead 4-3 in the first set, Swiatek’s serve faltered, allowing Kostyuk to break back and claim the opening set before dominating the second. For Kostyuk, this marks her maiden quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros, capping a successful clay-court season that included a 250-level title in Rouen and her first WTA 1000 championship in Madrid.
Ukrainian Showdown Looms in Women’s Quarterfinals
Marta Kostyuk’s next opponent will be fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who battled back from a set down to defeat Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Svitolina, a seven-time quarter-finalist at the French Open, has yet to advance beyond this stage. Her upcoming match against Kostyuk will pit the two winners of the main pre-Grand Slam clay-court events against each other, following Svitolina’s victory at the Italian Open.
“It’s exciting. Definitely she’s been playing really well,” Svitolina commented on Kostyuk, who is currently on a 15-match winning streak on clay. “I feel like it’s going to be an exciting battle for Ukraine, as well, you know, that there will be one Ukrainian in the semis. Yeah, I think it’s really cool.”
Cirstea Continues Farewell Season Success
In a remarkable resurgence during her final professional season, 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Chinese world number 148 Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Cirstea is set to face either Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva or Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, marking her first French Open quarter-final appearance in 17 years.
“I came into my last year, wanted to go out the front door of the sport, wanting to really do well, but I didn’t really think it was going to go that well,” said Cirstea, who entered the tournament with a career-high ranking of 18th. “In the same time it’s very beautiful. I’m very grateful for everything that’s happening.”
Zverev and Ruud Eye Progress in Men’s Draw
Rising Spanish talent Rafael Jodar, in his debut Roland Garros appearance, secured a lengthy five-set victory over compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta. The 19-year-old triumphed 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, overcoming a match that was extended by a shift from heatwave conditions to rain-induced delays.
Later in the day, the remaining contenders in the bottom half of the men’s draw, Casper Ruud and second seed Alexander Zverev, will continue their quests for a maiden Grand Slam title. Ruud faces Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca, while Zverev is scheduled to play Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong.
