Tennis
Aryna Sabalenka powers into French Open quarterfinals; Medvedev loses to De Minaur
Paris — Aryna Sabalenka extended her dominant run at the French Open by dispatching Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals Monday.
And watch out, because the sun is back at Porte d’Auteuil in the southwest of Paris.
“When the sun is out, I play with a lot more happiness,” said Sabalenka, who has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros.
She was joyful after her fourth-round win over the 22nd-seeded Navarro, showing disco-inspired dance moves on her way off the court to the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” being played loudly on the phone of No. 8 Ons Jabeur, who stood near a staircase leading to the locker room.
The second-seeded Sabalenka is one win away from her seventh straight Grand Slam semifinal. She will face the unseeded Mirra Andreeva, who reached the quarterfinals of a major for the first time after beating Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-2.
Other results included No. 12 Jasmine Paolini defeating Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 4 Elena Rybakina eclipsing Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3. Paolini and Rybakina will meet in the quarters.
“She’s a tough opponent,” Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said of Paolini. “She’s moving well and hitting the ball quite heavily. I’ll have to focus on my footwork.”
With temperatures in Paris approaching 22 degrees (72 F), the absence of rain allowed the matches on Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen to proceed with an open roof.
It was far from the scorching heat Alex de Minaur grew up with in Australia. The 11th-seeded De Minaur rallied past No. 5 Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to become the first Australian to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago.
Medvedev had treatment on his right foot during the second set but said it was nothing more serious than a blister.
De Minaur conducted his on-court interview all in French.
“I want to say thank you to everyone, it was an incredible atmosphere. I was not expecting to get to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros because I haven’t played very well on clay in recent years,” the 25-year-old De Minaur said.
He tried to explain how difficult it was playing Medvedev but couldn’t find the right French, saying “C’est trop difficile,” (It’s too difficult) and still drawing loud cheers and applause.
“It is a lot easier to just have a normal conversation instead of trying to explain tennis,” De Minaur said. “I don’t have that sort of vocabulary in my disposal.”
Next up for De Minaur is No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 13 Holger Rune, who were playing their fourth-round match later Monday.
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