TENNIS – Iga Swiatek’s 25th birthday celebrations turned sour at the French Open yesterday when the former champion lost to 15th seed Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round and her quest for a fifth title ended just when she had looked to be rediscovering her form.
Swiatek’s shock 7-5 6-1 loss came amid a chaotic spell at Roland Garros, with men’s world number one Jannik Sinner, 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff all going out in the previous three days.
It leaves world number one Aryna Sabalenka as the favourite to lift her first title in Paris, though Ukrainian Kostyuk will be one to watch as she builds on the momentum that has helped her to sparkle on clay this season.
The French Open will crown new champions in both the men’s and women’s draws for the first time since Djokovic and Garbine Muguruza triumphed a decade ago.
One of the dark horses for the Musketeers’ Cup will be teenager Rafael Jodar, who battled back from two sets down to beat veteran Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 in their all-Spanish battle of the generations.
His next opponent, Alexander Zverev, is a more established contender with three trips to Grand Slam finals, and the German remained on track for an elusive maiden major by beating lucky loser and birthday boy Jesper De Jong 7-6(3) 6-4 6-1.
Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea proved that dreams have no expiry date as she beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 7-6(4) to reach her first Roland Garros quarter-final in 17 years.
“I have so much passion for this sport,” said the 36-year-old Cirstea, who will retire at the end of the season.
“I absolutely love tennis and to be able to still play at this level, have my family, my team, the closest people watching me. It’s an absolute joy.”
“I’m still in shock,” Kostyuk said in an on-court interview after reaching her first French Open quarter-final.
“I feel like I’ve given myself more space to just create something, to challenge my opponents. I woke up in the morning and all I thought was ‘what an unbelievable day I have to live today... there’s nothing I could do other than this’.
“I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I’m not playing tennis to win. I’m playing because I love it. I want to connect to people, feel this energy... make people happy and unite people.”
It was a difficult day for Swiatek, who has forged her reputation as the “Queen of Clay” but has now gone two years without winning a title on the surface following her last triumph in Paris.
After her earliest defeat at Roland Garros since her debut campaign in 2019, Swiatek will now look to find comfort on grass ahead of her Wimbledon title defence starting on June 29.
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