(Paris) Bernarda Pera failed to win a service game on Monday en route to a 6-3, 6-1 final loss to Ons Jabeur in the fourth round of the French Open tennis tournament.
The American was the victim of eight breaks of service against the Tunisian, seventh seed of the tournament, on the clay court of Philippe-Chatrier. Jabeur took 15 of 16 points on second serve from Pera, an unseeded player. Jabeur, a runner-up at Wimbledon last year, reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time in his career.
She certainly had some problems with her serve against Pera, but she still managed to save eight of the 12 break points offered to her rival.
“She put a lot of pressure on my serve,” Jabeur admitted. “I’m happy that I was able to win my serve games when I needed to…. I hope to do well in returns and serve more effectively in my next match.” »
Pera appeared frustrated at times, and she occasionally tried to rush the end of the trade – a strategy that was doomed to fail. She committed a total of 33 unforced errors.
Jabeur will face off in the next round with 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who overcame Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo after a nearly four-hour marathon match.
Haddad Maia came from behind to defeat Sorribes Tormo 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 in a duel that was punctuated by 16 breaks of serve as a steady wind blew across the pitch. Haddad Maia thus became the first Brazilian player to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament since Maria Bueno, who found herself in the semi-finals of the United States Open in 1968.
In another women’s singles match on Monday, American Coco Gauff beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2.
In the quarterfinals, Gauff will face world number one Iga Swiatek in what will be a replay of the 2022 final which the Pole won in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. To achieve this, Swiatek took advantage of the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, physically inconvenienced, when she was leading 5-1 in the first set.
In women’s doubles, Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez and her American playing partner Taylor Townsend beat Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazilian teammate Luisa Stefani 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2 in the third round. Fernandez and Townsend will face Taiwanese Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching in the quarter-finals.
On the men’s side, fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway advanced to the quarter-finals with a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
Finalist in Paris last year, Ruud delivered a solid performance to counter his opponent and his powerful serves, raising his game at the important points over a tense duel. Ruud notably saved 14 of the 17 break points he faced.
In the next round, Ruud will face Denmark’s Holger Rune (6th), who snatched Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (23rd) 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6 and 7- 6 (7) on the Suzanne-Lenglen court. The Norwegian is 4-1 against Rune – all of their career duels have come on clay, and Rune took the honors in their most recent semi-final at the Rome Masters.
For his part, the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (no 27) will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while the German Alexander Zverev (no 22) will have an appointment with Grigor Dimitrov (no 28) in the evening.
