Problems for the ukraine: the match with the holder and seeded n.1 lasts only 31′ who will now challenge Coco in the rematch of last year’s final. Jabeur-Haddad Maia is the other quarter of the upper part. Tomorrow the crossings of the lower part with Muchova-Pavlyuchenkova and Svitolina-Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek’s title defense in Paris continues. The Roland Garros No. 1 seed progressed through the round of 16 against Lesia Tsurenko, who withdrew after experiencing symptoms of lightheadedness and breathing problems. In the next round Swiatek will find Coco Gauff in a rematch of last year’s final. Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia will be in the other quarterfinal. The latter beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the longest match of 2023.
Tsurenko retreat
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Iga Swiatek had played many short games, but none like this one. With Lesia Tsurenko (#66 in the world) she lasted only 31′, that is, until the Ukrainian tennis player retired on a score of 5-1. Tsurenko requested a medical timeout, appearing visibly dizzy and complaining of breathing difficulties. She tried to play on it, but after one game she decided to stop. The Ukrainian player had also recently retired from Indian Wells, accusing a panic attack before the match against the Belarusian Sabalenka. It’s up to you to tell her, due to a conversation with Steve Simon, the CEO of the WTA, in which she had not received satisfactory answers regarding the position of the Women’s Tennis Association with respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We don’t know, however, if the malaise felt today is related to that episode. One win remains for Swiatek, making her the woman with the highest percentage of successes at Roland Garros (92.6%) after Margaret Court (95.2%) in the Open Era.
Gauff, victories and croissants
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Iga Swiatek’s opponent will be Coco Gauff, No. 6 seed, who reached the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year by beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (No. 100) 7-5 6-2, her 37th win in a row against players outside the top 50. Gauff — who had her knee treated during the match, only to remove the bandage shortly after — will return to singles on Wednesday, but will be back on the court tomorrow alongside doubles partner Jessica Pegula. “I don’t need days off”, she joked after the match. “Tomorrow I will play some cards and eat some croissants. The other day I had a chocolate cake for breakfast. To my agent I said: ‘I’m in France, who cares'”. One breakfast after another, it came to a rematch with Iga Swiatek, who defeated her in the final last year, leaving her just four games. Not only that, for Gauff the Polish is just a recurring nightmare: they faced each other six times (all in the last two years) and the American has never managed to snatch a set from her.
Record Jabeur
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Ons Jabeur, number seven in the world and fourth highest seed remaining in the draw, defeated Bernarda Pera (n.36 WTA and Cocciaretto’s executioner in the third round) 6-3 6-1. Jabeur needed such an agile and hasty victory, especially after the efforts Danilovic had forced her to in the previous round. The Tunisian, it can be seen, has not yet found her best condition after returning from a calf injury and, to be nicknamed Minister of Happiness, she is still giving few smiles. Passing the turn in 1h3 ‘is a great way to buy time, waiting to be able to show the best version of her. Meanwhile, it is already a historic result for her: with her first quarterfinals at Roland Garros, she became the first African (woman or man) to reach this round in Paris. She will compete with South American Haddad Maia for a place in the top four at Europe’s premier clay court event.
Epic on the Lenglen
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A game for strong hearts, empty agendas and bowls full of popcorn. Bia Haddad Maia (n.14) defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo (n.132) by 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 in the longest WTA match of the year: three hours and 51 minutes of the purest essence of tennis on clay. Opposite were two players who had nothing to lose, both in their first eighth Slam of their lives, but fought as if their entire careers were at the plate. Haddad Maia created and destroyed: ahead 5-2 in the first set, she let herself be overcome up to 0-3 in the second, before starting an exhausting climb, immersed in an all-out fight match, slaps and caresses, feats, endless errors and rallies (79 with more than 9 hits). “It’s not just tennis when you get to play so much, there’s so many things that go into your head. I’m delighted I didn’t give up, I pushed my limits and I think I deserved the win for that,” said Haddad Maia after making the fourth match point and while Sorribes Tormo slipped behind her slapping his hand on his chest. The Brazilian, who has never made it past the second round in her 11 previous Grand Slam appearances, completed her fourth match over three hours in 2023. Unsurprisingly, it was against Sorribes, who played eight last year, including the longest of the season.
Quarter finals
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The quarterfinals of the lower part of the table will be played tomorrow. Muchova-Pavlyuchenkova and Svitolina-Sabalenka will be, respectively, the first and second match of the morning session. Haddad Maia-Jabeur and Swiatek-Gauff will play on Wednesday.
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