Unstoppable defending champion Iga Swiatek turned in her second double-bagel victory in three weeks as the world No. 1 roared into the fourth round of the French Open on Saturday.
Swiatek crushed China’s Wang Xinyu, the WTA No. 80, with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline.
The rout took just 51 minutes and duplicated a similar May result in Rome over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.
.”I was very disciplined and took care of everything,” Swiatek said. “I’m pretty happy with my performance.”
Swiatek has dropped just eight games over three matches this week and stands 24-2 on the season.
Wang lost for the third time to a Top 10 player.
Swiatek took another step towards holding onto her top ranking; she will need to win the next round and earn the quarter-finals to have a chance of holding off Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed and challenger to her Tour superiority.
“Every point is important for me,” Swiatek said. “At the highest level, every point matters.
“I’m pleased with the way I kept my focus throughout the whole match. I’m keep feeling better and better every day.
“That’s what I wanted to achieve in this tournament. I’m glad I feel the rhythm a little bit better in every match.”.
American teenager Coco Gauff ran into the rare opponent younger than herself as she defeated rising 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1.
The winner, aged 19, lost the final here a year ago to Iga Swiatek. Gauff recovered after dropping the first set against Andreeva to run out the winner in a shade over two hours.
Wild card Andreeva had qualified into the first Grand Slam main draw of her career.
“She’s super-young and has a big future,” the winner said, revealing that she and her opponent played practice sets earlier this week at Roland Garros.
“I remember playing here at 16, she has a lot to look forward to.”
Gauff said she had to lift her level to take out the win.
“I had chances in the first set, I served for it but we traded breaks. I was a bit undisciplined in the tiebreaker.
“I knew this would not be an easy match, but it’s all about adjustment in tennis.”
The Floridian’s win began repairing her poor record when losing an opening – which stood 2-16 before the match.
Andreeva learned from her mistakes after winning the opening set.
“It was a tough match for me, but I will take positive things and I will learn from it. I will just keep going.
“I didn’t expect like to win or to lose. I was just playing how the game goes.
After I won the first set , realised that I can really win this match. Then I got a little bit nervous not to lose this opportunity – that was a mistake from me.
“I should have just continued playing, and that’s it.”
Slovak Anna Schmiedlova ended the breakout run of US qualifier Kayla Day 6-1, 6-3.
Both players set personal records, with Schmiedlova reaching the second week of a Slam for the first time and Day notching her first career Tour-level main draw wins on clay.
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, whose career has stalled after her 2019 Grand Slam surprise, was bundled out 6-1, 6-1 by Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
The Canadian lasted for 63 minutes, committing 20 unforced errors and losing serve six times.
Main photo:- Roland Garros 2023 Day 7 Iga Swiatek wins third round match by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
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