Iga Swiatek closed out her hottest French Open victory and raised a triumphant right fist. Rafael Nadal won less than half an hour after and celebrated with a left uppercut.
Both defending champions make for a potent one-two mix at Roland Garros. Both won moving away Saturday to get to the fourth round.
Swiatek rallied from a break down in the opening set to beat Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 6-0. Nadal was not fazed to lose function two in a row at the second group and he eliminated Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Nadal, 35, advanced to the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the 50th time, and he’ll next play teenager Jannik Sinner. The Spanish superstar is attempting to add to his record 13 French Open crowns and hunts his 21st big title, which would break the men’s record he shares with Roger Federer.
Federer and Novak Djokovic are the only other men to have reached the fourth round at 50 major events.
Swiatek, 20, has won 20 consecutive places at Roland Garros, which series was in jeopardy when she trailed Kontaveit 4-2. The name holder dominated from there and lost only 12 points in the second set.
The eighth-seeded Swiatek next faces 18-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who’s reached the round of 16 in a significant event for the very first time.
Kenin is the highest-seeded participant left at the women’s draw at No. 4, and she’s shaken a slump with her return to Roland Garros, where she was the runner-up to Swiatek at October.
“This whole year hasn’t been so great concerning my tennis,” Kenin mentioned. “I have had some early round leaves. I am just happy that I’m finally finding my rhythm and playing some fantastic tennis again.”
Top-seeded Djokovic didn’t face a break point en route to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory over unseeded Ričardas Berankis. Two Italian 19-year-olds also advanced — Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.
Kenin blew a 3-0 lead in the opening set against the No. 28-seeded Pegula, but then began stepping into the court to take control of rallies, particularly with a backhand that produced two dozen winners. She hit 48 winners overall to 18 to get Pegula.
The 2020 Australian Open champion, who was sidelined by an appendectomy in February, improved to 10-8 this past year.
“I am happy it’s clicking during the French Open,” that the 22-year-old Kenin said. “I really like the courtroom, I love the clay. It is a good surface for me. My game isn’t where it was at the Australian Open in 2020 but we’re getting there.”
American Sloane Stephens, who is ranked 59th and out of the top 50 for the first time because 2017, advanced by beating 18th-seeded Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5.
Djokovic advanced into the round of 16 at the French Open for the 12th successive year and said he left crucial adjustments on a cool, cloudy day.
“Perhaps for those watching it looked simple, but it was not,” he told the crowd in French. “The conditions were somewhat different. How can you say in French… the bounce was reduced. I think I dealt well.”
Djokovic next faces Musetti, who’s playing his first Grand Slam event.
“He’s a major challenge for me personally,” Djokovic mentioned. “He doesn’t have a lot to lose. I am convinced he’s going to come back attempting to play the tennis of his own life ”
Musetti rallied to acquire an all-Italian matchup from Marco Cecchinato 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Sinner, seeded 18th, conquer Mikael Ymer 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.
Jan-Lennard Struff, a 31-year-old German, matched his best Grand Slam effort by advancing to the fourth round when he beat 18-year-old qualifier Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
