PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka eyes a place in a seventh consecutive Grand Slam semifinal when she takes on Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva at the French Open on Wednesday, with the schedule diminished following the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic.
The other two singles quarter-finals on Court Philippe Chatrier see Elena Rybakina face Jasmine Paolini and Alexander Zverev play Alex de Minaur in the night session.
World number two Sabalenka, who is still on course to meet rival Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s final, has not failed to reach a Slam semifinal since lifting her first major title at last year’s Australian Open.
“When you finally get there, to your goal, it actually gives you so much confidence in yourself,” the Belarusian said.
Sabalenka has powered through the draw so far without dropping a set, including a 6-1, 6-2 dismantling of Andreeva’s older sister Erika in the first round.
However, 17-year-old Mirra, the youngest woman to reach the quarter-finals since 2005, could prove a tougher nut to crack despite having failed to win a set against Sabalenka in two previous meetings.
“Of course, we will add a few adjustments,” she said. “We will change something, because the way I played last two times didn’t work.
“I don’t have anything in my head, so I hope my coach will help me with it.”
The winner will play either former Wimbledon champion Rybakina or Italian 12th seed Paolini for a spot in the final.
Rybakina will be a strong favorite to progress, but the 28-year-old Paolini will be full of confidence after an excellent year which has seen her fly up the rankings.
“Before was, like, ‘I cannot win these matches’. I have to, I don’t know, do a miracle,” Paolini said after beating Elina Avanesyan to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
“But now I step on court, and I say, ‘Okay, I can have my chance’. I have to play well, of course, but I have chances.”
Djokovic had been due to face Casper Ruud in a repeat of last year’s final, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s title defense was abruptly ended by a knee injury he suffered during his dramatic last-16 victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
Media reports suggested Djokovic was set to undergo surgery, which would put his participation at Wimbledon and potentially the Paris Olympics in doubt.
Jannik Sinner will now usurp Djokovic as world number one next week and the Italian goes up against Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s men’s semifinals.
Zverev and De Minaur, playing in only his second Slam quarter-final, will face off for the remaining last-four spot against Ruud.
German fourth seed Zverev will be targeting a fourth straight Roland Garros semifinal after making the last eight for the sixth time in seven years.
He needed five sets to beat Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, before fighting back to defeat Holger Rune in another decider in a last-16 tie which finished at 1:40 am local time — the second-latest finish in French Open history.
“I’ve played a total of eight-and-a-half hours over the last three days so I need to recover,” said Zverev.
“I need to do everything possible to be ready for the quarter-final match.”
Zverev is playing under the shadow of an ongoing trial in Berlin over allegations of assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
Australian De Minaur, seeded 11th, had never even got past the second round in Paris before this year, winning just three of 10 matches.
“It’s one of my best Slam results. Looks like I’ve converted myself into a clay specialist,” De Minaur said.
There will be a first-time French Open men’s champion on Sunday, with Ruud the only man left in the draw who has previously reached the final.
Sabalenka, Zverev eye French Open semis after Djokovic withdrawal
https://arab.news/j4vk4
Sabalenka, Zverev eye French Open semis after Djokovic withdrawal
- “When you finally get there, to your goal, it actually gives you so much confidence in yourself,” the Belarusian said
- Zverev and De Minaur, playing in only his second Slam quarter-final, will face off for the remaining last-four spot against Ruud
Defending champ Andreeva reaches last 8 of Dubai Tennis Championships
- Top seed Elena Rybakina retires ill as Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic progresses to quarterfinals
- Second seed Amanda Anisimova secures passage to last 8 with 70-minute win
DUBAI: Defending champion Mirra Andreeva was among a raft of top seeds that moved menacingly into striking position at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, with a star-studded quarterfinal lineup setting up a thrilling denouement to the WTA 1000 event.
With nine seeded players swelling the competition in today’s round of 16, and only two matches pitting seed against seed, five daylight matches ultimately saw most fancied favorites progress to the quarterfinals.
In the opening match on Centre Court, Amanda Anisimova, the tournament’s second seed and the World No. 6, took only 70 minutes to dispose of Indonesian wildcard Janice Tjen 6-1, 6-3, in what was the reigning Wimbledon champion’s first match of the tournament.
After receiving a bye in the round of 64, Anisimova was subsequently handed a walkover in the round of 32 when Barbora Krejcikova withdrew due to injury. The well-rested American’s reward for her ruthless dismantling of Tjen is a quarterfinal clash with fifth seed Mirra Andreeva, who edged out Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 7-5, 6-3, in the second match on Centre Court.
Similarly, Andreeva’s win came a mere 24 hours after Daria Kasatkina’s withdrawal handed the fifth seed a second round walkover — on top of her first round bye — into the round of 32. Ahead of their last eight showdown, Andreeva said: “It’s the second time it ever happened to me, that the girl withdrew before the match. I had one more day of practice, but I feel like it’s kind of breaking the rhythm of your play a little bit.
“I feel like I was pretty far from perfect today, from how I want to play, so I’m just really happy that I stayed focused and tried to reset for every single point, I’m super happy with that. I’m sure tomorrow is going to be better because I’m going to get into this rhythm.”
Now only three matches away from defending her Dubai title — which would make the Russian the first back-to-back winner since Elina Svitolina in 2018 — Andreeva added: “I know I’m a defending champion, but I have so many nice and great memories from Dubai from last year. I feel all the support from the people. And honestly, it’s insane because I feel so much more motivation here than any tournament, so I’m just so excited to try and defend my title. I’m going to give it all tomorrow and we’ll see how it’s going to go.”
The final daylight match on Centre Court saw top seed Elena Rybakina, the world No. 3, retire during her match with Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic. Despite surrendering six inches in height and reach to the two-time Grand Slam winner, Ruzic showed few signs of fatigue after navigating two punishing three-set matches over the past two days.
After losing a topsy-turvy first set where she broke Rybakina in the very first game, Ruzic, ranked 64 places below her opponent, bravely battled back to clinch the second set 6-4. Then, only seconds into the decider, and moments after Ruzic broke Rybakina again to go 1-0 up, Rybakina’s race was run — the 26-year-old retiring due to illness.
On New Court 1, last year’s defeated finalist, Dane Clara Tauson, maintained her confident form with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magda Linette. Having eliminated eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 32, the Pole had no answer to the impressive Tauson, who will face her third American opponent in four matches in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
Her last eight opponent was decided in the second match on Dubai Tennis Stadium’s newest court, which saw an all-American clash between rising star and 16th seed Iva Jovic, and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed.
After a tight opening set, the seasoned Pegula upped the ante and eventually overpowered her younger rival 6-4, 6-2. The Pegula-Tauson quarterfinal looks delicately balanced, with both players yet to drop a set in Dubai this year.
