PARIS (AP) — Naomi Osaka may have had the edge in the fashion contest. In the tennis department, though, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka was the winner.
Sabalenka beat Osaka 7-5, 6-3 on Monday to reach the French Open quarterfinals and move one step closer to finally winning the clay-court Grand Slam after getting beaten by Coco Gauff in last year’s final.
It was the first women’s night match at Roland Garros in three years and Osaka entered the court wearing
a golden bomber jacket over her gold sequin playing dress, trailing a tiered train with puffs of tulle.
Sabakenka wore more standard tennis attire: A slightly sheer black flared tennis dress with a red underlayer; plus diamond necklaces.
In the matchup of four-time Grand Slam champions, Sabalenka improved to 3-1 in her career against Osaka, who was playing in the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time.
Sabalenka overpowered Osaka from the baseline, and produced a huge forehand return winner on her first match point that Osaka barely got her racket on.
Tournament organizers had been criticized for not scheduling more women's matches at night, with Roland Garros officials responding that women's best-of-three set matches don't occupy enough time for TV broadcasters. The men play best-of-five set matches.
Sabalenka won in 1 hour, 27 minutes.
Sabalenka's quarterfinal opponent will be Diana Shnaider, who beat Madison Keys — the last American woman remaining in contention — 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
French hopes were dashed following Diane Parry’s 6-3, 6-2 loss to 114th-ranked Polish player Maja Chwalinska.
Chwalinska had never been beyond the second round of any major, and her run is even more impressive since she came through three qualifying rounds.
Chwalinska's quarterfinal opponent will be Anna Kalinskaya, who surprised even herself by reaching the last eight after defeating Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10-7).
“Thinking two weeks ago that I will be here, I wouldn’t believe it,” Kalinskaya said. “I would probably laugh with my team.”
Many top women's players were already eliminated, such as Gauff, four-time winner Iga Swiatek and No. 2-ranked Elena Rybakina.
Despite top-ranked Jannik Sinner losing in the second round, Italian fans will have at least two men in the quarterfinals.
Tenth-seeded Flavio Cobolli advanced to his second Grand Slam quarterfinal — and his first here — after beating American Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5).
“It’s for sure my favorite Grand Slam to play,” Cobolli said after winning on Court Philippe-Chatrier. “We have the best feeling with the surface as Italians.”
A little while after his win, Cobolli — a former youth soccer player at Italian club Roma — joined players from the Paris Saint-Germain team as they paraded the Champions League trophy on Court Philippe-Chatrier. PSG beat Arsenal in the final on Saturday.
Cobolli's next opponent will be No. 4 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 to reach the last eight at all four majors. The Canadian has never been beyond a Grand Slam semifinal, though.
“Not having Sinner in the semifinals is another opportunity, but you need to be there,” Auger-Aliassime said. “So I have to focus on the next match.”
Big-serving Matteo Berrettini joined Cobolli in the quarterfinals after beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6). Berrettini last reached the quarterfinals here in 2021 — but hadn't been back to the tournament since then because of a series of injuries and physical issues.
Matteo Arnaldi will try to make it three Italians in the last eight when he plays No. 19 Frances Tiafoe later.
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AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin, and AP Fashion Writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
