French Open tennis – Iga Swiatek downs Anett Kontaveit to reach last 16 and roar on at Roland Garros

ByBen Snowball

Updated 05/06/2021 at 16:20 GMT

Swiatek avoided the fate suffered by the majority of the women’s top 10, with Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka (withdrew), Aryna Sabalenka, Bianca Andreescu, Karolina Pliskova and Belinda Bencic already out of the tournament in Paris. The Pole produced another impressive display on Court Philippe-Chatrier as she made it 20 sets – and 10 wins – on the spin at the French Open.

Iga Swiatek showed why she is the favourite to defend her French Open title with an impressive win over Anett Kontaveit in the third round.

The Pole had not dropped a set in her last nine matches at Roland Garros, but was handed her stiffest test yet after Kontaveit forced her to a tiebreak in the opener.

But Swiatek stayed tough to seize the first set before her opponent unravelled in the second, coming through 7-6(4) 6-0 to book a clash with Ukrainian star Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.

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Swiatek is one of only three top 10 players left in the women’s draw along with fourth seed Sofia Kenin – who she could meet in the quarter-finals – and seventh seed Serena Williams.

She took a while to find her rhythm on Court Philippe-Chatrier as Kontaveit came out firing and broke the 20-year-old in the opening game of the match.

But Swiatek slowly warmed to her task, breaking back in the eighth game of the set as she began to match Kontaveit’s aggressive hitting from the baseline.

After sneaking the tiebreak – albeit only after forgetting the service pattern when trying to take the first two serves – she raised her game to another level, making just one unforced error in the second set as Kontaveit’s own count quickly racked up.

'Sorry!' - Swiatek forgets service pattern in tiebreak v Kontaveit

The 82-minute match may not have been Swiatek's finest display at Roland Garros, but it was arguably one of the most important – proving that she can quell an inspired opponent and manage the big points.

“She was playing really fast, from the beginning she was dominating,” Swiatek said on court afterwards.

“I kind have had a late start today. But I’m really happy as I was losing our head-to-head 0-2 and I broke that.

“I’m really happy that I’m playing consistently and I’m just trying to approach every game in the same way as I did last year.

“Many players struggle after coming back after winning a Grand Slam, so I’m really happy that I’m able to handle it.”

Since winning the title at Roland Garros last year, Swiatek has established herself in the top 10 and won tournaments in Adelaide (hard court) and Rome (clay).

'Many players struggle after winning a Grand Slam' - Swiatek

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Watch all the action from the 2021 French Open live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal eyeing a remarkable 14th title at his favourite event and 2020 Roland Garros sensation Iga Swiatek aiming to replicate her stunning triumph.

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