With the French Open entering its decisive stages, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and second seed Alexander Zverev find themselves among the leading contenders in draws suddenly wide open for new champions.
Sabalenka returns to Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday looking to move one step closer to her first Roland Garros title. The Belarusian, who finished runner-up last year, faces Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is now one of only two top-10 seeds remaining in the women’s draw, making this arguably her best opportunity yet to conquer Paris. A victory would send her into a seventh consecutive Grand Slam semi-final.
Standing in her way is the dangerous Shnaider, who is chasing a maiden major
semi-final appearance. The Russian has impressed throughout the fortnight and will hope to spring another surprise against the tournament favourite.
In the other women’s quarter-final, Anna Kalinskaya takes on Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, whose dream run has been one of the stories of the tournament. Ranked 114th in the world, Chwalinska has already knocked out Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 23rd seed Elise Mertens and former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari.
Men’s Draw Wide Open
The men’s tournament has become even more unpredictable following the exits of several major contenders, including top seed Jannik Sinner.
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is now the highest-ranked player left in the top half of the draw and continues his pursuit of a first Grand Slam title. The Canadian faces Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals.
Italy’s remarkable tournament continues regardless of Sinner’s early departure. Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi have all reached the last eight, marking the first time in the Open Era that three Italian men have made the French Open quarter-finals.
Berrettini and Arnaldi will meet in an all-Italian showdown, guaranteeing at least one Italian semi-finalist.
Mensik and Zverev Advance
On Tuesday, Czech rising star Jakub Mensik continued his breakthrough campaign with a straight-sets win over Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca. The 20-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semi-final and became the youngest Czech man to do so since Tomas Berdych.
Awaiting Mensik is Alexander Zverev, who cruised past Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar. The German has now reached the French Open semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and remains firmly on course in his quest for a long-awaited first Grand Slam trophy.
(with AFP inputs)
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