BIG GUNS ADVANCE: Swiatek, Sabalenka sizzle, barge into Last 16

PARIS, France (AFP) — Iga Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title on track Friday, advancing to the Last 16 at Roland Garros along with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Reigning men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz will look to book his place in the Last 16 later on Friday to join Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, Dane Holger Rune and American Ben Shelton, who all reached the fourth round.

Swiatek came through despite a very close second set against Romania’s world No. 60 Jaqueline Cristian, winning 6-2, 7-5 in nearly two hours in sweltering conditions on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

“She went for it every time I gave her a chance,” said Swiatek, hoping to become the first woman to win four successive Roland Garros titles since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.

Swiatek broke the 60th-ranked Cristian twice in a comfortable first set, but she was pushed a lot harder by her rival in the second and had to save six breakpoints.

“I’m just happy that I was super solid and didn’t give any free points but she used her chances.”

The 23-year-old Pole will next play 12th seed Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh dispatched 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2 in a clash of big hitters.

Swiatek has a 4-4 record against Rybakina but has lost both previous meetings on clay. However she was relieved at avoiding Ostapenko, who is 6-0 against her.

A grinning Swiatek suggested earlier she had no preference as to her last-16 opponent before asking: “Am I a good liar?”

“Let’s say it doesn’t matter, really. Oh, my God. I couldn’t play poker,” joked the world number five who has not won a title since last year’s French Open.

Earlier, Sabalenka produced a dominant display in a 6-2, 6-3 win over 34th-ranked Serbian left-hander Olga Danilovic.

But the Madrid Open winner, whose best result at Roland Garros was a semi-final in Paris two years ago, insisted the pressure was on Swiatek.

“Let’s just leave it (the pressure) on Iga (Swiatek) since she won it, what, three times in a row,” Sabalenka said.

The 27-year-old Belarusian next plays 16th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova who ousted Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in their third-round tie.

Zheng ended the run of Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4.

The Chinese eighth seed has now won nine successive matches at Roland Garros following her run to Olympic gold last year.

Zheng is through to the fourth round in Paris for the second time and will next play Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova who brushed aside Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-3.