French Open: Sinner, Draper win; Badosa ousted on mixed day for top stars (Ld)

Paris, May 31 (IANS) World No. 1 Jannik Sinner delivered a brutal statement of intent at the French Open, dispatching Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in just 94 minutes to storm into the fourth round at Stade Roland-Garros on Saturday. The top seed remained flawless in Paris, having yet to drop a set, and extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches. Top-seeded players in the women's and men's draws, including women's Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen, also reached the last 16.

Jack Draper of Great Britain continued his superb season on Saturday as he dispatched the young Brazilian João Fonseca 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the first time in Paris.

In the women's draw, despite her trademark resilience and emotional firepower, Paula Badosa’s Roland Garros 2025 campaign came to a heartbreaking end in the third round, as she fell 6-1, 7-5 to a tactically astute and unflinching Daria Kasatkina.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China advanced to the women's singles Round of 16 at the French Open for the second time on Friday, as top seeds continued to shine at Roland Garros. The eighth seed spent under 90 minutes to beat 18-year-old Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4 in their first career meeting, marking her second appearance in the last 16 at Roland Garros after her breakthrough run in 2022.

"I was born in China in a really hot place, which is called Wuhan. So I handled the hot weather quite well," Zheng said in her post-match interview. "Last year, when I played the Olympic Games, it was hotter than this. So actually I like this condition, but I want to say thanks to all the crowd who suffered here under the sun today with me."

Zheng also praised her young opponent. "I want to say congrats to the opponent because I feel she played well, and I think we pushed each other to play our best tennis. And sometimes we had really good points. It was not an easy match."

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus also continued her strong showing with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Serbia's Olga Danilovic, advancing into the tournament's fourth round for the third consecutive year, reports Xinhua.

Four-time winner Iga Swiatek of Poland overcame a spirited challenge from Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets, stretching her tournament's winning streak to 24 matches.

"I'm just happy that I was super solid in the last game and didn't give any free points," said Swiatek. "It was a great match, and I think it was pretty entertaining. We both played nicely. I'm happy I'm through and happy with the performance."

Last year's finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy prevailed 6-4, 6-1 over Ukrainian lucky loser Yuliia Starodubtseva for her ninth straight win on clay.

"The first few games were tough," said Paolini. "I had to adjust a little bit with the conditions, but then I felt better on court. Happy to be in the fourth round here in Roland Garros."

On the men's side, defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain survived a stern test from Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, eventually sealing a 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win. The Spaniard is through to the second week in Paris and will face American Ben Shelton for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, 10th seed Holger Rune came from behind to defeat home favourite Quentin Halys 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. The Dane has now reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the fourth consecutive year. He will meet eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the next round.

--IANS

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