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WOMEN'S DAY 8: Swiatek into French Open quarterfinals after 40-minute blitz

general02 June 2024 11:55| © AFP
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Defending champion Iga Swiatek needed just 40 minutes to reach the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Russia's Anastasia Potapova.


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World No 1 Swiatek, chasing a fourth Roland Garros title, will face either Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or Serbia's Olga Danilovic for a place in the semifinals.

The 23-year-old Pole's quickfire victory came on the same Court Philippe Chatrier where men's No 1 Novak Djokovic had completed his third round win at 3:07 a.m., the latest finish to a French Open match after more than four hours and five sets.

"I was really focused and in the zone. I wasn't looking at the score so I continued working on my game," said Swiatek who had to save a match point to defeat Naomi Osaka in the second round.

"It doesn't feel like summer in Europe. We'll see what the weather is going to be like. The forecast is not precise."

GAUFF SWEEPS INTO QUARTERFINALS

American third seed Coco Gauff cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

US Open champion Gauff will take on eighth seed Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, or Denmark's Clara Tauson for a place in the last four.

Gauff reached the Roland Garros final in 2022 before losing in straight sets to Iga Swiatek.

VONDROUSOVA BOOKS QUARTERFINAL CLASH WITH SWIATEK

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova halted the run of Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal against tournament favourite Iga Swiatek.

Fifth seed Vondrousova, a runner-up at Roland Garros in 2019, fought her way back from a slow start against the 125th-ranked Danilovic and won 11 of the final 13 games.

The Czech has lost all three previous meetings with world No 1 Swiatek, who is aiming to become the first woman to win three straight French Open titles since Justin Henin did so between 2005-07.

Swiatek dropped just three games to Vondrousova in their 2020 Roland Garros encounter in the opening round, as the Pole went on to lift the first of her four Grand Slam trophies.

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