Paris: World number one Naomi Osaka’s hopes of winning a third successive Grand Slam ended on Saturday when she was knocked out of the French Open in the third round by unheralded Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
Former number one Serena Williams also bowed out, beaten 6-2, 7-5 defeat by fellow American Sofia Kenin. Chasing Margaret Smith Court’s all-time Slam record of 24, Williams failed to recover from a woeful opening set on Court Philippe Chatrier.
In the players’ first meeting, world number 35 Kenin pulled Williams around the court and made the most of her opponent’s unforced errors to set up a last-16 encounter with Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty.
Japanese top seed Osaka, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, crashed to a 4-6, 2-6 defeat to the 42nd-ranked Czech.
“Losing is probably the best thing that could have happened,” said 21-year-old Osaka, the reigning Australian and US Open champion. “I felt very tired. In the other matches, I had headaches, maybe that’s the stress.”
Osaka was undone by a shocking 38 unforced errors as she finally ran out of luck in Paris, having had to come back from a set down in her first two matches. The Czech goes on to face Madison Keys of the United States for a place in the quarterfinals.
The men’s world number one Novak Djokovic eased into the last 16, stepping up his bid to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously for the second time.
The Serbian saw off unseeded Italian Salvatore Caruso 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to set up a fourth-round tie with Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff who beat Croatian 13th seed Borna Coric 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 11-9.
“Finally, I think I found my best form in the second set,” said Djokovic, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
German fifth seed Alexander Zverev needed another five-setter to reach the fourth round, defeating Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2. Zverev will face Italy’s Fabio Fognini. Fognini defeated Spanish 18th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
Crowd favourite Tsitsipas became the first Greek player in 83 years to reach the second week at Roland Garros as he survived a scare against Filip Krajinovic, winning 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6).
The 20-year-old will take on former champion Stan Wawrinka for a place in the quarterfinal. Wawrinka recorded his 500th match win with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8) win over Grigor Dimitrov.
Meanwhile, defending champion Simona Halep stormed to a 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of Ukrainian 27th seed Lesia Tsurenko.
Last year’s runner-up Dominic Thiem reached the last 16 for the fourth straight year on Saturday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas. Argentinian eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro also advanced, easing past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
Paes crashes out
Veteran star Leander Paes crashed out of the men’s doubles after he and his partner Benoit Paire of France lost 0-6, 6-4, 3-6 to the Colombian duo of Robert Farah and Juan Cabal in the second round.
AFP
Results (prefix denotes seeding): Third round: Men: 1-Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt Salvatore Caruso (ITA) 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt 13-Borna Coric (CRO) 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 11-9; 9-Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt 18-Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; 5-Alexander Zverev (GER) bt 30-Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2; 6-Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) bt Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6); 24-Stan Wawrinka (SUI) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8).
Women: Katerina Siniaková (CZE) bt 1-Naomi Osaka (JPN) 6-4, 6-2; 14-Madison Keys (USA) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4; 3-Simona Halep (ROM) bt 27-Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-2, 6-1; Iga Swiatek (POL) bt Mónica Puig (PUR) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.