French Open: Iga Swiatek moves into the third round along with Casper Ruud and Elena Rybakina | Tennis News

Iga Swiatek served up another bagel as the defending women’s champion moved into the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets win over American Claire Liu.

Like in her opening match, Swiatek was not at her best in the first set in windy conditions, being pegged back from 3-0 to 3-3, but she never looked in any danger and dominated the second set to win 6-4 6-0.

“I felt like I played already night sessions in this clay court swing,” said Swiatek. “Obviously it would be nice if we had women’s matches as well. But I’m not helping.”

In the last 32, Swiatek will take on China’s Wang Xinyu.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud stayed on course to reach consecutive finals at Roland Garros.

Ruud, who was beaten by Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, is aiming to capitalise on the 14-times champion’s absence through injury this year and looked rock solid for much of his 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.

“It was a tough match,” Ruud said. “I started well, got a break early and served well myself. That’s the beauty of best-of-five sets. In a normal match I would have won 6-3 6-2, but here you have the chance to fight like he did.

“He played much better in the third set and the fourth set, and it became very tough.”

Elena Rybakina also booked her third-round spot with a 6-3 6-3 victory over rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova as the Wimbledon champion, who also reached this year’s Australian Open final, impressed again on Parisian clay as one of the top contenders for the Grand Slam title.

Russian qualifier Mirra Andreeva continued to enjoy a dream Grand Slam debut as the 16-year-old stormed into the third round with a 6-1 6-2 win over Frenchwoman Diane Parry, though she admitted to having butterflies in her stomach.

Andreeva only turned 16 at the end of April and is setting her sights sky high for her tennis career.

“The dream: I know that (Novak) Djokovic, he did 22 Grand Slams, so I want to go until 25, if it will be possible,” said the confident teenager.

Andreeva will try to keep her feet on the ground, though, adding: “As my coach says, to not be like a diva, to stay humble all the time. I don’t think that I have a lot of success now. I didn’t win any tournaments. I just play. It’s the third round of Roland Garros. I will play.”

American Kayla Day made no secret of her success after her stunning 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over compatriot Madison Keys, thanking her Czech roots for enhancing her tennis skills.

“My mom, she was born and raised in Prague, and I speak fluent Czech. That’s the only reason why I’m good at tennis, because I’m half Czech.”

World No 7 Ons Jabeur reached the third round thanks to a comfortable 6-2 6-3 victory against French world No 122 Oceane Dodin.

It is the third time in five years that no French player has made the third round of the women’s competition.

Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild, who stunned second seed Daniil Medvedev in the first round, continued his charge by defeating Guido Pella 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Fifth longest match in French Open history

Jannik Sinner wasted two match points as he was knocked out of the French Open 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (9-7) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in a thriller against German Daniel Altmaier.

Altmaier, who reached the quarter-finals in Madrid this year and the last 16 at Roland Garros in 2020, served twice for the match, eventually shaking off his nerves to end it with an ace.

He went back to his chair as tears rolled down his cheeks before saying: “I love the game of tennis. In the past months, me, my team, we put so much effort all together.

“We play here but behind us we have strong teams, that’s why this victory is a team effort.”

Altmaier, who reached the fourth round on his Roland Garros debut in 2020, next faces Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian’s more straightforward 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-4 victory over Emil Ruusuvuori.