By Shrivathsa Sridhar and Julien Pretot
PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) – Aryna Sabalenka passed one of her sternest tests yet in her pursuit of a maiden French Open crown on Monday, overpowering Naomi Osaka 7-5 6-3 in a pulsating duel to power into the quarter-finals of the claycourt Grand Slam.
Playing in the first women’s night-session match at Roland Garros in three years, the Belarusian recovered from a ragged opening to extend her remarkable consistency at majors, where she has reached at least the quarter-finals in her last 14 appearances.
“She is such a great player, she plays super aggressive tennis,” Sabalenka said on court before delighting the crowd by showing off a playful moonwalk. “I’m happy with how I was able to put back the pressure on her. It’s amazing to play the night session in front of all of you guys.
“I’m super happy with my serve. I’m super pleased overall with the performance today.”
Osaka, playing in the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, exploded out of the blocks and raced into a 2-0 lead after a Sabalenka double fault.
The world number one responded immediately, hammering her way back into the contest with the kind of relentless power that has made her the dominant force in women’s tennis this season.
At 5-5 in the opening set, Sabalenka landed the first major blow, crushing a vicious return at Osaka’s feet to snatch the break as the Japanese player dumped a backhand into the net.
In the second set, Sabalenka’s weight of shot gradually suffocated Osaka. After surviving a grinding service game to level at 3-3, she produced a feather-soft half-volley winner at the end of a punishing rally to break for 4-3 and seize complete control.
She next takes on Russia’s Diana Shnaider, who shrugged off a second set blip to overcome American Madison Keys 6-3 3-6 6-0 in another stunning upset of a major champion at the claycourt Grand Slam this year.
Anna Kalinskaya also continued her journey into a maiden French Open quarter-final with a 6-4 2-6 7-6(7) win over 28th seed Anastasia Potapova, marking only the second time that the Russian has entered that stage of a Grand Slam.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
“I was definitely nervous,” she said.
“I meant like some moments when after losing my serve, at 5-5 in the third set, being 40-love up and then losing the game. I was frustrated because I wanted to win that game and to be up in the score and have a bit of advantage to finish the match.
“When it didn’t work, I was upset. But it was a very fast changeover, so I had to reset and continue to play.”
Potapova rued several missed opportunities during what the Russian-born 25-year-old described as a “mental” match to kick off the day’s action on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“She played great and she held her nerve better than me in some moments,” Potapova said.
“I know what I need to work on to make sure that it’s not going to happen again.”
The error-prone Potapova was not the only one paying a costly price, as Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was fined $65,000 after suggesting female umpires lacked the courage to control rowdy crowds following his defeat on Friday.
Diane Parry, the last Frenchwoman standing at Roland Garros, was defeated 6-3 6-2 by Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.
Local fans had some reason to celebrate though, as Paris St Germain players Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola presented their two Champions League trophies to the crowd on Monday, two days after winning Europe’s premier club competition for the second successive season with victory over Arsenal.
While Roland Garros received an injection of star power thanks to the presence of the duo, the tennis world got its own boost with news that Serena Williams will return to action next week, shifting some of the spotlight beyond Paris.
The 44-year-old American will play in the June 8-14 Queen’s Club Championships after getting a doubles wildcard, with media reports in Britain saying she will partner Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko.
With world number one Jannik Sinner knocked out, Flavio Cobolli ensured Italian presence in the last eight by beating American Zachary Svajda 6-2 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(5), before Matteo Berrettini downed Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3 7-6(2) 7-6(6).
Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime dismissed Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-3 7-5 6-1 and completed his set of Grand Slam quarter-final appearances.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Julien Pretot in Paris; Additional reporting by Karolos Grohmann and Vincent Daheron; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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