Sabalenka and Osaka set for French Open last-16 showdown

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka will meet on Monday in the French Open women’s night session, with the winner moving into the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

The match will pit two four-time Grand Slam champions against each other in the first women’s night match at the tournament in three years. World number one Sabalenka is chasing a first French Open title after falling to Coco Gauff in last year’s final, while Osaka has reached the last 16 in Paris for the first time in her career.

It will be the fourth meeting between the pair, with all of their previous encounters also coming at the last-16 stage of tournaments. Osaka won their first clash on her way to the 2018 US Open title, and they did not face each other again until this year. Sabalenka then beat the Japanese player in straight sets at Indian Wells before coming from a set down to win their Madrid Open meeting.

The winner will play either former Australian Open champion Madison Keys or Russia’s Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals. Sabalenka said she was pleased to see Osaka competing strongly again after the former world number one returned from a 2023 break during which she gave birth to her daughter.

"It's great, great to see her back on her level. Maybe not at her best level, but she's back, she's fighting, she's building her level,"

Sabalenka added:

It's nice to see her. She's a great player, great person. I feel like I really enjoy our battles. It's high-level matches, and I really enjoy when somebody pushes me to the limit.

Osaka had struggled for consistency after returning to the tour, but she reached the US Open semi-finals last year, her first appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam since she won her second Australian Open title in 2021. She said she had set clear goals for the clay and grass seasons.

"I really wanted to make it a goal to do really well on clay and grass,"

Osaka added:

I don't want this to be my last round. I want to keep going. I just want to keep focusing on every match.

Osaka has been wearing a sequined gold dress in Paris that she compared to the Eiffel Tower at night, although she has indicated she may change her outfit for the evening match.

Other women’s matches

French player Diane Parry, the last home representative left in the women’s draw, will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska as she attempts to continue her run. Parry will try to follow the example of surprise 2025 semi-finalist Lois Boisson.

Anastasia Potapova, seeded 28th, will look to build on her victory over defending champion Coco Gauff when she takes on Anna Kalinskaya.

Men’s draw opens up

In the men’s event, world number six Felix Auger-Aliassime is the highest-ranked player remaining in the top half of the draw after Jannik Sinner’s exit and Ben Shelton’s earlier defeat. The Canadian will try to reach the French Open quarter-finals for the first time when he plays Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, who is featuring in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

American Zachary Svajda had won only two Grand Slam matches before this tournament and said Sinner’s departure underlined the opportunity in the draw ahead of his match against Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli.

"When I saw Sinner was out, I try to stay present and stay positive and just take it day by day, match by match,"

Svajda added:

I knew the draw was open, but I just tried to keep doing my routines, keep doing what I've been doing, and just see what happens.

Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini will aim for his first Grand Slam quarter-final since 2022 when he faces Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who knocked out Sinner. Frances Tiafoe, beaten by Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals last year, will play another Italian, Matteo Arnaldi.