Staff Reporter.
Iga Swiatek defeated 12th seeded Elena Rybakina in the fourth round on Sunday, putting together a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory to extend her bid for a record fourth consecutive French Open championship.
After dropping the first set, fans expected another Swiatek meltdown, which became the norm during her year-long title drought.
However, Swiatek moved back off the baseline and sat on Rybakina’s backhand in the second set. This strategic decision led to a highly contested decider with plenty of drama.
The marathon match lasted exactly two hours and thirty minutes. Swiatek hit 57% of her first serves to Rybakina’s 48%. Swiatek tallied 33 winners and 29 unforced errors to Rybakina’s 28 winners and 35 unforced errors.
Rybakina failed to take advantage of her biggest opportunities, going 4/14 in break points. Meanwhile, Swiatek was 4/8 in break points.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was noticeably relieved after battling back to win the tough match.
“I needed to do something to get back in the match and, honestly, with her playing like that, I didn’t have a lot of hope,” Swiatek said afterward.
In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will play No. 13 Elina Svitolina. Svitolina is three-time major semifinalist but 0-4 in previous French Open quarterfinals.
Svitolina saved three match points earlier Sunday to get past 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1. All of the top eight women’s seeds reached the fourth round; No. 4 Paolini was the first to exit.