Swiatek demolishes Potapova to reach French Open quarter-finals

DIMITAR DILKOFF/ AFP

World number one Iga Swiatek continued her relentless march to a fourth French Open title with a 6-0 6-0 demolition of former junior rival Anastasia Potapova in 40 minutes to reach the quarter-finals.

Potapova was in uncharted territory, playing in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, and Swiatek took full control of the play, giving the Russian no time to breathe between a flurry of points.

Such was the top seed's domination that Potapova won only 10 points in the encounter as Swiatek extended her win-streak on clay to 16 with the quickest match of her career.

The pair had met before at junior level where Potapova had come out on top in what Swiatek described as "heartbreaking matches" but in their first meeting as professionals, the Russian was truly outclassed.

"I had just a thought that times change a little bit because I remember she was always the player to beat me. I don't think I won against her... We always played against each other (at) European championships," Swiatek told reporters.

"Honestly, there's no point thinking about that, but I had just a thought. It lasted two seconds and then I was focusing on my work because that's the best thing I can do.

"I'm just proud of myself and the work that I've put to be in this place. Everything changed because I'm just older and I play better."

Swiatek will next face Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals after the fifth seed defeated Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 6-4 6-2.

More from Sports News

  • Arsenal beaten 3-0 by Brighton to end perfect start

    Brighton and Hove Albion ended Arsenal's perfect start to the season in stunning fashion on Saturday, routing the Premier League champions 3-0 on the south coast.

  • England complete Sri Lanka whitewash to top T20 rankings

    Jos Buttler hit an unbeaten half-century as dominant England beat a sorry Sri Lanka by eight wickets to complete a 3-0 series whitewash and replace India on top of the T20 world rankings after the final match of the series in Manchester on Saturday.

  • UAE begins campaign at Asian Games in Japan

    The UAE has begun its campaign at the 20th Asian Games in Japan, with 165 athletes representing the country across 21 sports.

  • UEFA defends draw policy after Ireland request

    UEFA said on Saturday that decisions on whether national teams should be kept apart in competition draws were made on a case-by-case basis and guided primarily by security considerations, after Ireland's football association said its request to avoid future pairings with Israel had been rejected.

Blogs