Top seed Iga Swiatek brushed aside compatriot Magdalena Frech to advance to the last 16 at the Poland Open on Tuesday.
The Warsaw native took 73 minutes to secure a safe passage to the next round with a 6-1 6-2 victory, setting up a clash with Romanian Gabriela Lee – who defeated Raluka Serban on Tuesday.
Swiatek won 76.2 per cent of total service points and won 61.8 per cent of the overall points in the match, with Frech on the back foot throughout, extending her winning streak on clay to 17 matches.
It was Swiatek's first time on the court since defeat at Wimbledon to Alize Cornet, which brought an end to a remarkable 37-match unbeaten run.
Elsewhere, eighth seed Petra Martic overcame Weronika Falkowska 7-5 6-4, while there were also victories for Laura Pigossi, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani and Ana Bogdan.
In the Prague Open, Wimbledon quarter-finalist Marie Bouzkova advanced after a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory against Czech teenager Dominika Salkova - setting up a clash against another teenager, 19-year-old Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.
There were also victories for Chloe Paquet, Wang Qiang and Magda Linette on day five of the tournament.
Cameron Norrie brushes aside Lucas Pouille to reach French Open third round
Cameron Norrie reached the third round of the French Open for the third year in a row with a comfortable win over home hope Lucas Pouille.
Ranked down at 675 after injury and personal problems, Pouille was bidding to make the last 32 at a slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2019, but Norrie was too strong in a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory.
The 14th seed wore strapping under his left knee and will no doubt be relieved to have avoided the drama of his raucous five-set duel with another Frenchman, Benoit Paire, in the first round.
The Suzanne Lenglen crowd were not as much of a factor this time, although there was another moment of umpiring controversy, this time in Norrie’s favour, in the third set.
Pouille was convinced Norrie, who was bizarrely penalised for a hindrance shout against Paire, had not got to a ball before it bounced twice but the British player did not stop play and umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore sided with him.
Pouille complained – and was shown to be correct by TV replays – amid booing from the crowd, and the French player lost four games in a row to move to the brink of defeat.
He roused himself for a late stand, breaking Norrie when he served for the match at 5-1 and having two opportunities to get back on serve, but the British number one took his second match point before a final round of booing from the crowd.
Norrie said: “All credit to Lucas, it’s great to see Lucas back and enjoying his tennis. It was a tough battle, tough to get over the line. Thank you to everyone, great atmosphere. Sorry to take another Frenchman out but hopefully you can support me in the next one.”
Norrie may feel tempted to take to the stage in the off-season given the practice he has now had at being a pantomime villain.
Booed onto court, the partisan home crowd light-heartedly jeered his shots during the warm-up while cheering those of Pouille.
The support had played a big part in inspiring Paire and Norrie appeared determined not to let the same thing happen, imposing his game straight away and looking significantly sharper than he had on Monday.
Pouille, who looked very nervous, won only six points in the first five games and, although he saved a set point to avoid the dreaded bagel, Norrie wrapped up the set in less than half an hour.
Pouille briefly became a top-10 player back in 2018 before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals the following year.
Elbow issues triggered a downward spiral that led to depression and a problem with alcohol, and he took time out of the game last year before returning at the start of this season.
A run through qualifying made him the toast of Roland Garros and he led fans in a rendition of the Marseillaise after winning his first-round match.
The 29-year-old swiftly found himself 2-0 down in the second set as well but raised home hopes by winning three games in a row and applying some real pressure to Norrie.
The British number one did well to nip Pouille’s comeback in the bud before things got complicated, and can look forward to trying to make the last 16 here for the first time.
Home favourite Caroline Garcia suffers shock second-round exit at Roland Garros
France’s great home hope, Caroline Garcia, was bundled out of Roland Garros in the second round after a dramatic encounter with Russian Anna Blinkova.
As the fifth seed, Garcia is by a distance the top-ranked French player in either the men’s or women’s singles but the country’s wait for a new grand slam champion goes on.
Blinkova, ranked 56, had never beaten a top-five player before but battled back from a set down to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-5, finally taking her ninth match point.
Nerves were clearly affecting the 24-year-old, who served for the match twice, while the partisan Philippe Chatrier crowd were willing Garcia on, but Blinkova did not let the opportunity for the biggest win of her life slip away.
Former world number three Elina Svitolina continued to impress in her comeback grand slam, taking inspiration from husband Gael Monfils as she saw off Australian Storm Hunter 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Less than 11 hours after completing an emotional five-set win over Sebastian Baez, Monfils was back at Roland Garros cheering on Svitolina.
“I watched him, but not live, I was screaming in my room,” said the Ukrainian. “It was an unbelievable match. I don’t know what he is doing here now, I think he should be resting, but I’m really thankful for him coming to support me, especially in this tough match.”
Svitolina is playing her first slam in more than a year following the birth of baby Skai last October.
The new mother and father are juggling the day job with childcare, and Svitolina said: “It’s the first tournament for us where we are both playing at the same tournament, and Skai is here with us in Paris as well. It’s really, really special.
“So far everything is going well and we really enjoy our time off the court together and on the court we try to be focused and play as good as we can.”
Svitolina is also having to put to one side thoughts of the troubles in her homeland and is using the situation to inspire her on court.
She said: “When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine. And me, I’m fighting here on my own frontline.
“I cannot be sad. I cannot be distracted in some ways. I’m just going to lose. I have a flag next to my name so I’m fighting for my country, and I’m going to do that each time I step on the court.”
Third seed Jessica Pegula had an untaxing afternoon, taking the first set 6-2 against Camila Giorgi before the Italian pulled out.
Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina produced the shot of the tournament so far, a fizzing tweener winner, in a 6-3 6-4 victory over former finalist Marketa Vondrousova, while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko lost out 6-3 1-6 6-2 to American Peyton Stearns.
French Open day three: Seyboth Wild springs shock as Swiatek powers through
Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild caused the first big shock of the French Open, knocking out second seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets.
In a now wide open men’s bottom half, there were wins for last year’s finalist Casper Ruud, young Dane Holger Rune and Alexander Zverev.
Defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek pulled away after a tricky start to open her campaign with a 6-4 6-0 win over Cristina Bucsa.
Picture of the dayStat of the dayShot of the dayMatch of the day
A five-hour-10-minute epic played out on Court Eight. To add to the drama, Miomir Kecmanovic demanded to see the supervisor after being given a warning when he hit a ball back that had flown over from another court.
Carrot tops
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There is no missing Jannik Sinner’s fan club at Roland Garros this year. The ‘Carota Boys’ have been inspired by their favourite player’s penchant for a mid-match carrot snack. “I have orange hair, and I used to eat a lot of carrots in Vienna,” said Sinner. “It’s a good nickname.”
Venus returns
Venus Williams turns 43 in a couple of weeks but she is not yet ready to follow sister Serena into retirement. The American will play her first tournament since January on grass in the Netherlands, and watch out for her popping up in Birmingham, too. Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, will play in Eastbourne.
Fallen seeds
Men: Daniil Medvedev (2), Miomir Kecmanovic (31)
Women: Barbora Krejcikova (13), Victoria Azarenka (18), Anhelina Kalinina (25), Sorana Cirstea (30), Marie Bouzkova (31), Shelby Rogers (32)
Who’s up next?
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Cameron Norrie will take on the crowd and a French opponent for the second match in a row on Suzanne Lenglen, this time former top-10 player Lucas Pouille.
Novak Djokovic plays the night match on Philippe Chatrier against Marton Fucsovics, with Carlos Alcaraz facing Taro Daniel in the last contest of the day session.
Caroline Garcia carries French hopes against Anna Blinkova while third seed Jessica Pegula meets the dangerous Camila Giorgi.
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