Jabeur powers into quarters

World No. 1 Alcaraz sets up last-eight clash with Tsitsipas at the French Open

PARIS: Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur moved into the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Bernarda Pera on Monday

Jabeur played in the Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2022 but lost in the first round at Roland Garros last year. She has now reached the quarter-finals in all four Grand Slam events. Seventh seed Jabeur, 28, will meet Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last eight after she eliminated Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.

World No.36 Pera, also 28 and playing in her first Grand Slam last-16 match, struggled on Court Philippe Chatrier and did not hold serve at all. Jabeur was not at her fluent best and was herself broken three times in the first set and at the start of the second set, but she raced through the final six games, sealing victory in 63 minutes.

“I wouldn’t say it was easy, it was very tough and I’m so happy. It took me three times to get to the quarterfinals and I’m very happy to make my best result here at the French Open,” Jabeur told Eurosport.

“Hopefully I can continue playing well and we will see what happens.”

Haddad Maia, 27, came back from a set down to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5 in an epic encounter which lasted three hours and 51 minutes - the longest match on the WTA Tour in 2023.

Sorribes Tormo, ranked 132nd in the world, had gained a walkover win in the third round when Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina had to withdraw because of illness.

Earlier on Sunday night, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain cruised past 17th seed Lorenzo

Musetti 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final clash against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

The US Open champion extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 11 matches, having missed the Australian Open earlier in January due to injury.

Musetti had defeated Alcaraz on clay in their only previous face-off, in the Hamburg final last July. The

Spaniard had his sweet revenge this time, rallying from an early break in the opening set to claim 18 of the next 23 games for the victory.

“I think I played such a great level,” said Alcaraz on court. “A really high quality of shots, playing really aggressively. I think I played a really complete match.”

Tsitsipas, the runner-up in 2021, beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 to return to the quarterfinal of the clay-court major after a fourth-round exit last year.

“Today’s performance was good, actually. I’m not really sure how the first game was, because I didn’t feel that great coming from my end. But I picked up fast.

“I kept the focus locked in. I felt like I read his game at some point. I felt like I was getting into the match stronger and stronger. More games and more opportunities I got to kind of hit balls and stay in rallies and read rallies. I got a sense of how I can win more points against him. It helped a lot,” Tsitsipas said later.

“I need to play good tennis. Carlos [Alcaraz] is someone that keeps the intensity high at all times. He’s someone that is not going to give you gaps where his attention is not there. He’s very energetic, and you can see that on the court. He adds a lot of that into the rallies, into his rituals when he is out there playing the game,” added Tsitsipas.

Former women’s world No.3 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine advanced to the quarter-finals in her first Grand Slam since becoming a mother, ousting Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatina 6-4, 7-6.

“I don’t have the pressure I used to have,” the 28-year-old said. “Of course, personally I put kind of pressure on myself because I want to win a Grand Slam. This is the ultimate goal for me.

“But definitely not the pressure from outside. I feel almost like I’m 17 again coming on the tour fresh.”

Next for Svitolina is second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who defeated former US Open champion Sloane Stephens of the United States 7-6, 6-4 to progress.

“It’s a good match to play on the clay court. It’s good preparation. If you can get through this match, you can get through whatever happens to you, you know. Like, it was a really tough, tough match,” Sabalenka said after her win.

Talking about her quarterfinal opponent, Sabalenka said,”[Svitolina is] playing really great tennis here in Paris, moving well. Another player [that’s] gonna run a lot and put a lot of balls back, and I just have to be patient and wait for that perfect shot to finish the point.”