Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Serena powers on as Sabalenka tumbles
PARIS: Serena Williams continued her quest for a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam title by reaching the French Open second week for the first time since 2018, after third seed Aryna Sabalenka’s surprise loss left the veteran American as the highest-ranked player in her half of the draw.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Williams came through a potentially tricky third-round encounter with compatriot Danielle Collins, winning 6-4, 6-4.
She will next face Kazakh 21st seed Elena Rybakina, with a possible quarter-final against old rival Victoria Azarenka up for grabs.
The 39-year-old Williams, still one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record of most Grand Slam singles titles, thundered down five aces and struck 22 winners past Collins.
“Today it was very difficult, but I played well, stayed concentrated. I’m very happy,” said Williams, who fought back from 1-4 down in the second set.
The eighth seed had already seen yet another of her potential title rivals exit the tournament on Thursday, when world No. 1 Australian Ashleigh Barty hobbled out during the second round with a hip injury.
After Naomi Osaka’s shock withdrawal, Simona Halep failing to start the tournament through injury and early losses for Bianca Andreescu and Angelique Kerber, none of the players who have beaten Williams in Grand Slam finals since her last title in the 2017 Australian Open are still around in the competition.
World No. 4 Sabalenka, who was the highest-seeded women’s player in the tournament at the start of the day, was dumped out by Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Belarusian, who has never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final, slumped to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 defeat.
Former world No. 1 Azarenka, who stunned Williams in their 23rd meeting in last year’s US Open semi-finals, cruised past Madison Keys 6-2, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the first time since making the last four in 2013.
On-song Medvedev delights ‘home’ crowd Men’s second seed Daniil Medvedev was adopted as the new home favourite by the French crowd as the Russian eased to a straight-sets victory over the USA’s Reilly Opelka on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up, who speaks French and lived in France as a youngster, impressed in a quality 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 outing.
Medvedev had lost all four of his previous French Open matches before this week, but received generous support from the fans, with no French players in the third round for the first time in the Open era.
The Russian will face Cristian Garin for a last-eight spot after the Chilean beat US player Marcos Giron 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
German sixth seed Alexander Zverev needed five sets to beat unheralded compatriot Oscar Otte in the first round before edging Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in three tight sets.
He cruised to a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 win over Laslo Djere, setting up a last-16 clash with former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori. Nishikori reached the fourth round when opponent Henri Laaksonen retired injured after dropping the first set.
In-form Norwegian youngster Casper Ruud was knocked out by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a match lasting more than four-and-a-half hours.
Nadal beats Gasquet for 17th straight time
In Thursday’s night match, Rafael Nadal celebrated his 35th birthday in style with a straight sets win over Richard Gasquet to reach the third round.
Nadal, the 13-time champion in Paris and chasing a recordsetting 21st Slam, won 6-0, 7-5, 6-2 to register his 17th career victory in 17 meetings with France’s 53rd-ranked Gasquet.
In a match played in an empty Court Philippe Chatrier due to a 9pm Covid-19 curfew, Gasquet won just nine points in the first set. He managed a brief show of defiance from 2-5 to 5-5 in the second set but his resistance was broken when Nadal broke for 4-2 in the third set.
Russian player arrested over fixing charge
Russian player Yana Sizikova has been arrested at the French Open and placed in custody over match-fixing allegations related to last year’s tournament, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.
“Yana Sizikova is shaken and denies accusations of crimes she has never committed,” her lawyer, Frederic Belot, was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS.
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