French Open Roundup: Sinner extends Grand Slam unbeaten run to 17 matches

PARIS (AP) — When Jannik Sinner’s opponent within the French Open’s third spherical lastly gained a single recreation Saturday, the Court docket Suzanne-Lenglen crowd responded with a standing ovation. Sinner was just too good on at the present time, extending his Grand Slam successful streak to 17 matches and looking out very very similar to the No. 1-ranked man.

Sinner dominated Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in simply 1 hour, 34 minutes, the quickest males’s match at Roland-Garros this yr and, measured by video games misplaced, probably the most lopsided victory at a serious match of Sinner’s profession.

“We try to improve,” Sinner stated. “Today, I don’t think there are many things I can improve.”

Take a look at among the numbers: Sinner delivered 31 winners and made solely 9 unforced errors. He gathered 18 break factors, changing seven, and confronted only one, which he saved.

The primary 11 video games went Sinner’s approach. When Sinner missed a return large, making the rating 6-0, 5-1 after 55 minutes of motion, Lehecka raised his arm and pumped his fist in a little bit of sarcastic celebration. The followers went wild, rising out of their seats and clapping and shouting, eliciting a smile from Lehecka.

Make no mistake, although. Lehecka isn’t any also-ran. The 23-year-old from the Czech Republic is ranked thirty fourth and has been a Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

However he was fully overmatched by Sinner, who has gained the previous two main championships — on the U.S. Open in September and the Australian Open in January — and is now the proprietor of an unbeaten run on the sport’s most necessary tournaments that is been surpassed this century solely by a trio of fellows by the names of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Sinner’s bid for a primary French Open title, and fourth Slam trophy general, will proceed Monday, when he’ll face No. 17 Andrey Rublev for a quarterfinal berth. Rublev superior when his opponent, No. 14 Arthur Fils, withdrew from the match due to a stress fracture in his decrease again.

What else occurred on the French Open on Saturday?

Jessica Pegula, the No. 3-seeded American who was the runner-up on the U.S. Open, got here again to eradicate 2019 French Open finalist and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and attain the fourth spherical.

One other American, Seventieth-ranked Hailey Baptiste, made it into Week 2 at a serious for the primary time by beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-6 (4), 6-1 and can play Madison Keys or Sofia Kenin subsequent.

No. 6 Mirra Andreeva, an 18-year-old Russian who reached the semifinals a yr in the past, superior to a fourth-round showdown in opposition to No. 17 Daria Kasatkina.

American qualifier Ethan Quinn, the 2023 NCAA champion for the College of Georgia, performed his second consecutive five-setter and was crushed by Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4. Griekspoor got here into the day 0-4 in third-round matches at majors. Griekspoor subsequent meets 2024 runner-up Alexander Zverev, whereas No. 5 Jack Draper takes on Alexander Bublik. Draper defeated 18-year-old Brazilian João Fonseca 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Who’s on the schedule at Roland-Garros on Sunday?

No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and the 2 defending champions, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz, are all scheduled to look within the fourth spherical Sunday.

There are three American males in Week 2 in Paris for the primary time since 1995, and all are in motion: No. 12 Tommy Paul, No. 13 Ben Shelton and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe. Shelton faces Alcaraz, Paul goes up in opposition to No. 25 Alexei Popyrin and Tiafoe meets Daniel Altmaier.