Swiatek racks up 31st straight win

World number one Iga Swiatek racked up her 31st straight win to reach the French Open last 16 on Saturday as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas looked to make the second week and pounce on any slip-up by title favourites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Swiatek, the 2020 champion in Paris, dropped serve three times against 95th-ranked Danka Kovinic of Montenegro before sealing a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Kovinic recovered from 1-4 down in the second set to lead 5-4 but the Pole steadied with a hold and a break before serving out for victory.

Swiatek will next face either Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen, making her debut in Paris, or France’s Alize Cornet, playing in her 61st consecutive Grand Slam.

“I wanted to play really aggressively but sometimes I felt I was hitting with too much power and it was hard to control,” said Swiatek. 

“I needed to play with a little less risk and be more consistent. She did a pretty good job of defending and giving back at full speed.”

Swiatek’s winning streak is the best on tour since Serena Williams’s run of 34 successive victories in 2013.

In early action, Mackenzie McDonald, the 60th-ranked American, slipped to defeat to Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner after managing to squander 11 set points in the second set. 

Sinner, a quarter-finalist in 2020, triumphed 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 and will face seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev for a last eight spot.

“I am not 100 percent but I found a solution,” said the 20-year-old Sinner who played with strapping below his left knee.

Rublev, also a quarter-finalist two years ago, defeated Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (13/11).

Garin saved three match points in the fourth set while Rublev saved five set points in the tiebreak.

Leolia Jeanjean’s run ended when the 227th-ranked wildcard was defeated 6-1, 6-4 by Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

Jeanjean, once one of France’s greatest hopes before her career was derailed by a succession of knee injuries, had knocked out former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the second round.