Sabalenka beats Osaka to reach French Open quarter-finals

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in the French Open last 16 on Monday, moving into the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and extending her run to 14 straight major quarter-final appearances.

The world number one came through the first women’s night-session match on Court Philippe Chatrier in three years against Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion. Sabalenka will next play Diana Shnaider, who beat former Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.

Sabalenka is now the only Grand Slam champion left in either the men’s or women’s singles draws in Paris as she pursues her first Roland Garros title after losing last year’s final to Coco Gauff. After the match, she said her level had improved as the tournament progressed.

Sabalenka said she had not expected to serve so well in the match. "I didn't expect I would serve that great," said Sabalenka. "I feel like I'm getting better and better with every match I play and overall I'm super happy with how I played today."

Osaka, who again wore the sequined gold dress she had compared to the Eiffel Tower at night, saw her best run at the French Open end in the fourth round. The opening set stayed tight after both players exchanged early breaks, with Sabalenka making the decisive move in the 11th game. She then won the final four games of the second set from 3-2 down to complete her third consecutive victory over Osaka this year.

Sabalenka also said she hoped the scheduling marked a wider shift for the women’s event at Roland Garros.

"I hope that this is the beginning, today's match. It's like we open up that door for woman night sessions," said the top seed.

Other women’s matches

Anastasia Potapova, the Austrian 28th seed who had knocked out defending champion Gauff, lost to Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10/7). Potapova twice served for the match but was unable to close it out.

Kalinskaya will next meet Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who continued her run by beating Diane Parry, the last remaining French player in the draw, 6-3, 6-2.

Looking ahead to that match, Chwalinska acknowledged the scale of the challenge. "She's one of the top players in the world. No one knows me, to be honest, so definitely a very challenging one, like every match here," said Chwalinska of facing Kalinskaya.

After Parry’s defeat, the Paris crowd still had a home celebration as Paris Saint-Germain players Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Warren Zaire-Emery and Bradley Barcola appeared on court with their two Champions League trophies after sealing a second successive title on Saturday.

Berrettini reaches first major quarter-final since 2022 US Open

In the men’s draw, Matteo Berrettini advanced to his first Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2022 US Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (8/6) win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who had earlier eliminated Jannik Sinner.

Berrettini, a former Wimbledon runner-up, is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2021 after dealing with a series of injuries in recent years. Ranked 105th in the world, he is the lowest-ranked player to reach the men’s last eight in Paris since Igor Andreev in 2007. He was also one of three Italian men to progress on the day.

Berrettini said his repeated returns from setbacks reflected his commitment to the sport. "This (tennis) is the love of my life, I guess, otherwise I wouldn't keep coming back after all the setbacks, the injuries," said Berrettini.

He is now one of only two Grand Slam finalists left in the men’s singles draw, alongside Alexander Zverev, after the early exits of Sinner and Novak Djokovic.