PARIS (Reuters) – Highlights of the seventh day at the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, on Saturday (all times GMT).
Three Italian men have reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in the professional era after teenagers Jannick Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti were joined by Matteo Berrettini in fourth round of the French Open on Saturday.
Sinner, seeded 18, beat Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in straight sets to set up a clash with defending champion Rafael Nadal who stayed on course for a record-extending 14th French Open crown with a comfortable win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Musetti, also 19, edged out another Italian Marco Cecchinato 3-6 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-3 in just over three hours and will now take on top seed Novak Djokovic who looked sublime as he dismantled Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-1 6-4 6-1.
Roger Federer was given the evening match on a empty Court Philippe Chatrier and survived a torrid encounter against tenacious German Dominik Koepfer, winning 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 7-5 in a match that ended at almost 1am.
The Swiss will play Berrettini who beat South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo in straight sets.
The seeds continued to wither in the women’s draw where fifth seed Elina Svitolina managed only five games against Czech Barbora Krejcikova.
But defending champion Iga Swiatek continued to impress as she moved into the last 16 with a 7-6(4) 6-0 over Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.
American women continued to impress with teenager Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and last year’s runner-up Sofia Kenin all winning through to join Serena Williams in the last 16.
2000 BERRETTINI GLIDES INTO LAST 16
Italy’s ninth seed Matteo Berrettini fired 23 aces and won 84% of his first-serve points in an dominant 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4 win over South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo.
1710 SAKKARI PASSES MERTENS TEST
Greece’s 17th seed Maria Sakkari struck 53 winners and converted six break points in a hard-fought 7-5 6-7(2) 6-2 win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
1705 GAUFF ADVANCES AS BRADY RETIRES HURT
Teenager Coco Gauff progressed to the French Open fourth round for the first time in her fledgling career after her opponent Jennifer Brady was forced to retire hurt from the all-American contest.
Gauff, 17, took the opening set 6-1 before Brady decided against continuing the match after a discussion with her trainer.
1610 NADAL POWERS PAST NORRIE
Rafael Nadal continued his pursuit for a 14th Roland Garros title with a routine 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
1545 SWIATEK SOARS INTO LAST-16
Defending champion Iga Swiatek shrugged off a slow start to advance to the fourth round, overpowering Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 7-6(4) 6-0.
Swiatek finished with a bagel to claim her 20th consecutive set in Paris and has dropped just 13 games in her opening three matches this week.
1415 ITALIAN TEENS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS
Jannik Sinner racked up 44 winners in a 6-1 7-5 6-3 win over Sweden’s Mikael Ymer to join fellow Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16.
On his Grand Slam debut, Musetti edged out another Italian Marco Cecchinato 3-6 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-3 in just over three hours on Court 7.
1350 DJOKOVIC CRUISES INTO LAST-16
World number one Novak Djokovic eased into the fourth round with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 6-1 victory over Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania. The Serb has dropped just 23 games in his opening three matches this week.
1345 KENIN WINS ALL-AMERICAN CLASH
Last year’s runner-up Sofia Kenin struck a whopping 48 winners as she came back from a set down to dispatch fellow American Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-1 6-4 in under two hours.
1150 KREJCIKOVA DUMPS SVITOLINA OUT
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina suffered a 6-3 6-2 loss to Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who struck 38 winners in an aggressive display to book a place in the last 16 in Paris for a second consecutive year.
1111 SCHWARTZMAN EASES INTO LAST-16
Argentine 10th seed Diego Schwartzman beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 6-1 in the third round on the back of a strong service game.
Schwartzman was broken only once in the contest, while he broke the German seven times and smashed 24 winners.
1105 UNSEEDED STEPHENS THROUGH IN STRAIGHT SETS
American Sloane Stephens dispatched Karolina Muchova 6-3 7-5 in the third round, breaking the 18th seed four times to advance.
Muchova hit more winners but was let down a greater number of unforced errors.
0910 PLAY UNDER WAY
Play began in cloudy conditions at Roland Garros, with the temperature hovering around 15 degrees Celsius (59°F). Sloane Stephens, the 2018 runner-up, started her match against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Court Simonne Mathieu.
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina will begin proceedings on Court Philippe Chatrier at 1000 GMT with her third round match against Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova.
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Iga Swiatek are in action on the main showcourt later in the day. Holder Rafael Nadal meets Britain’s Cameron Norrie on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar, Rohith Nair and Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Christian Radnedge and Sonya Hepinstall)
