The French Open

Roland Garros 2024 Women’s Day 6

Published

2 years ago

May 31, 2024

Iga Swiatek turned 23 with a move into the French Open fourth round on Friday as the top seed defeated Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2.

The winner of her last 15 clay matches – including titles in Madrid and Rome – has won 31 of her 33 career matches played at Roland Garros, lifting three trophies along the way.

Swiatek was serenaded by the crowd at her on-court interview after failing to explain exactly what Paris park she had visited on Thursday’s day off.

The top seed needed four match points to get past Bouzkova after the Czech saved one in the penultimate game.

She did it again twice more on Swiatek forehand errors before the Pole landed a backhand for the 90-minute win.

The fast-paced win stood in contrast to the three hours it took in the previous round for Swiatek to defeat fellow four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.

“I feel good physically,” she said. “Today’s match was solid. But I’m happy to finish in two sets. For sure, it’s a good thing.”

Coco Gauff repeated a clay win from last month as she put out Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-4 to advance in dry, cloudy conditions after three days of rain

The third seed backed up a victory over the 30th-rnaked Ukrainian in 94 minutes, with Yastremska saving a match point as Gauff served for victory leading a set and 5-2.

The 20-year-old American closed out victory two games later on her second chance and set up a meeting with Elisabetta Cocciaretto, a 7-6 (4), 6-2 winner over Liudmila Samsonova in the third round.

“It was hard to close it out,’ US Open holder Gauff said. “After playing her in Madrid I knew she could play well from behind (in the score).

“I could have closed it out on my serve but I got unlucky with a few shots.

“It was difficult but I was able to stay mentally focused and not get too mad at myself.

Cocciaretto is looking forward to her meeting with the seed: “For sure it will be a very, very tough match, she’s one of the best players in the world.

“I think I will enjoy it but try to be aggressive, trying to do my game, and just fight every point.”

Yastremska, a Melbourne semi-finalist in January, was playing past the opening round at Roland Garros for the first time in five appearances.

Fifth-seeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the reigning Wimbledon winner, ended French women’s participation as she dispatched No. 136 wild card Chloe Paquet 6-1, 6-3.

Eighth seed Ons Jabeur, three times a Slam runner-up, owns a perfect 6-0 record against Canadians after her 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Leylah Fernandez.

Olga Danilovic turned in the performance of her life as the 125th-ranked Serb qualifier broke fresh ground at a Grand Slam with a move into the fourth round.

Danilovic defeated experienced Croat Donna Vekic in a battle of the Balkans, winning 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8) after more than three hours on court.

The 23-year-old outsider who reached the third round here a year ago, trailed a set and 3-1 and just avoided a double break as she saved three break points.

She held tough as Vekic twice served for the match, levelling at a set apiece. With the third set played in the super-tiebreak format, Danilovic recovered from 2-6 down, overhauling Vekic to earn the win 10-8.

Dane Clara Tauson stopped 2020 Paris finalist Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-5.

Main photo:- Iga Swiatek wins third round match – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd

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Roland Garros 2024 Men’s Day 6

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ATP

Ruud recovers his winning habit in Geneva

Published

9 hours ago

May 19, 2026

Bill Scott

Casper Ruud needed less than 48 hours to shrug off his Rome finals loss to Jannik Sinner, with the Norwegian starting strong at the ATP Geneva event with a 6-3, 7-5 opening win over Jenson Brooksby on Tuesday.

The three-time champion in the Swiss border metropolis advanced at the pre-Roland Garros tune-up with 21 winners.

Ruud won the title here in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

“This stretch of tournaments is quite a lot but they are nice tournaments and I like playing here,” the winner said.

“I like playing on clay. I try to use the clay season the most I can and every time I come to Geneva I have a good result at Roland Garros, so let’s hope to keep that tradition going.”

The Scandinavian owns two Roland Garros finals, losing to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Paris..

Strasbourg

Rusty Raducanu falls flat in belated return to tennis

Published

17 hours ago

May 19, 2026

Bill Scott

Emma Raducanu will head to the Sunday start at Roland Garros with one clay court match in her spring resumee after taking a 6-4, 7-6 (4) opening loss in Strasbourg to Diane Parry.

The Briton had played her last match more than two months ago at Indian Wells, came and went on the clay Tuesday after a long pause due to various injury and illness scenarios.

The No. 37 was coachless until a few days ago when she returned Andrew Richardson to post after he guided her to the US Open title in 2021 as a teenaged qualifier.

Raducanu could well struggle in Paris when Grand Slam play gets underway after missing most of the spring.

The Brit got away to a 4-2 led over Frenchwoman Parry, but the margin soon evaporated as double-faults came into play.

She salvaged five break points in the second set but was unable to establish a comeback rhythm against her 94th-ranked local opponent.

Raducanu managed to stop Parry from serving out a 5-4 lead but was unable to make a match of it in the tiebreaker as she took the loss after two and a half hours in the French city near the German border.

Though she lost serve five times, Raducanu did hold off 16 other break chances in the defeat.

ATP

Sinner writes more records with Italian home title

Published

2 days ago

May 17, 2026

Bill Scott

Jannik Sinner punched his ticket for another ATP record with a 6-4, 6-4 title defeat of Casper Ruud to win the Rome Masters on Sunday, a feat which vaulted him even deeper into the game’s elite.

The Italian took a firmer grip on his world No. 1 ranking while becoming only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win a matched set of all nine Masters titles.

It took the 24-year-old only three years to accomplish that mark; it took Djokovic until age 31 to do the same.

Sinner also becomes the first Italian since Adriano Panatta in 1976 to lift the home trophy at the Foro Italico.

The four-time Grand Slam champion finished off his one and three-quarter hour defeat of Ruud with a forehand cross-court winner to the corner which the Norwegian could not handle.

The full-house Campo Centrale crowd erupted as their local hero sealed the deal.

“I’m really, really happy, there was a lot of tension (over the past few days,” the winner said after getting through some apparent physical issues in the previous two rounds.

“It was not perfect tennis from either of us today, but I’m incredibly happy. It’s been an amazing two and a half months for me.”

Sinner has claimed titles at the last all six Masters events he has played, starting last November when he won the Paris Indoors.

He then ran off five on the spin in 2026: Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and now Rome.

“I try to come out and do my best every day,” Sinner said. “And not every day is simple.”

The Italian credited his fitness team for helping him through the tough circumstances of this weather-hit week in Rome.

“I had some very physical and tough matches. I have to thank my physical eam for trying to keep up my body.

“They are as important as the coaches.”

Sinner joins Djokovic (2018) and Rafael Nadal (2010) as the only players to win all three ATP Masters 1000 titles on clay in a season following his title wins in Monte-Carlo and Madrid – and Rome.

Sinner has now won 29 straight matches this season and has compiled 34 in a row at the Masters level dating to Paris four months ago.

He goes into the Roland Garros in a week as heavy favourite after winning Rome for the first time following his 2025 finals defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.