PARIS — Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, both Grand Slam winners, advanced to the fourth round of the French Open in straight sets on Saturday.
Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion and seeded fourth, defeated Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 6-2. Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and seeded second, followed with a victory over Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Reflecting on the match, Sabalenka mentioned the challenge of playing against a close friend, stating, “It’s tough to play your best friend.”
Despite trailing 5-3 in the first set, Sabalenka bounced back to win eight consecutive games and seize control of the match. “I was just feeling myself and trusting my shots,” Sabalenka commented.
Badosa also acknowledged their friendship, noting that it doesn’t impact their on-court performance. “We have a great relationship, and when the match starts, we separate things. We are opponents on the court, but off the court, we remain friends,” she said.
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Rybakina, the only player from Kazakhstan to win a major title, has reached the quarterfinals once, while Sabalenka’s best performance at Roland Garros has been the semifinals.
Varvara Gracheva, a Russian-born player representing France, advanced to the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time by defeating Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 7-5, 6-3.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic staged a remarkable comeback from two sets to one down to beat 30th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a thrilling match that lasted nearly four-and-a-half hours. Djokovic will face 23rd-seeded Francisco Cerundolo in the next round.
Alexander Zverev, seeded fourth, came from behind in the fifth set to defeat 26th-seeded Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) with an ace.
Zverev, who recently won the Italian Open, has reached the semifinals in the past three French Opens. In a separate development, Zverev is currently facing trial in Germany for an alleged incident in May 2020 involving his ex-partner.
In other men’s third-round matches, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime secured victories to progress to the next round of the tournament.
Due to rain interruptions, play was suspended multiple times throughout the day, with matches resuming under the roofs of Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Elina Avanesyan also managed to secure a win against Zheng Qinwen in a match that extended into a tiebreaker, thanking the spectators for their support amidst the adverse weather conditions.
