Rybakina and Sabalenka Advance to French Open Fourth Round

Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the fourth round of the French Open on June 1, showcasing their dominance on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner, displayed her power and precision in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Elise Mertens of Belgium. The fourth-seeded Kazakhstani broke Mertens' serve in the seventh game of the first set but immediately dropped her own serve. However, Rybakina regained her composure and broke back to level the set at 4-4. She then held her serve and broke Mertens again to secure the opening set. In the second set, Rybakina continued her momentum, breaking Mertens twice to take a commanding lead. She closed out the match with an emphatic hold of serve.

Sabalenka, the two-time Australian Open champion, faced a tougher challenge against Paula Badosa of Spain. The match started with both players holding their serves, but Sabalenka began to assert her authority in the fifth game. She broke Badosa's serve and then held her own to take a 4-2 lead. Badosa fought back to level the set at 5-5, but Sabalenka's determination proved too strong. The Belarusian won the next three games in a row, including two breaks of serve, to seal a 7-5, 6-1 victory.

"It's tough to play your best friend," Sabalenka said after the match. "But I was just feeling myself and trusting my shots."

Rybakina and Sabalenka's victories set up a potential quarterfinal clash between the two Grand Slam winners. Rybakina has reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros once before, while Sabalenka's best performance at the tournament is reaching the semifinals.

In other third-round action, Russian-born Varvara Gracheva of France advanced to the fourth round of a major for the first time after defeating Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 7-5, 6-3.

Tags: #FrenchOpen#ElenaRybakina#ArynaSabalenka#GrandSlam#Tennis