Iga Swiatek continued his insane streak on Saturday at Roland-Garros. World No. 1 Montenegrin Danka Kovinic 6-3, 7-5 to claim the 31st straight win.
Kovinic is ranked 95th in the world.
Still no falling round but easier than the first two rounds, Pole rallied after an hour and a half on the court itself for round of 16. As usual since its first participation in 2019.
The winner of the 2020 edition, less accurate than usual – committed 23 unforced errors for just 13 winning strokes – however experienced an air hole in the second set: two service games were lost, four in a row in total due to a series of ten defeated points consecutively.
Leaving too many games (8) in one match did not happen to Iga Swiatek in over a month and her semi-final in Stuttgart against Russian Liudmila Samsonova (win in three sets 6-7 (4 /7), 6-4, 7 -5 in just three hours).
Struggling with Kovinic’s heavy and precise service, which was present for the first time in the third round of the Parisian grand slam, Swiatek needed to switch to its reception mode with respect to the first two roundsfacing less powerful players, he delivered on the court.
Badosa surrendered
Elsewhere, Paula Badosa of Spain (no. 3) retired while Veronika Kudermetova of Russia (no. 29) trailed 6-3, 2-1.
The Spaniard, who requested a medical break for right knee pain in the latter part of the first set, threw out a towel after experiencing a broken serve in the second.
Badosa, 24, last year on clay in Paris reached his first – and only temporary – quarter -final in a grand slam. The winner in the fall of Indian Wells was then semi-finalist of the Masters, the Spaniard, who was left out in Paris, could cross the path with Iga Swiatek in the semi-final
Unless he is in turn the victim of a curse aimed at the top 10, the Pole, surfing an insane series of 31 victories, has a boulevard to take over a new coronation at Porte d’Auteuil after his surprise crowning in the fall 2020.
Veronika Kudermetova’s opponent in the Round of 16 has yet to be determined. To try to win her spot in the quarters, Camilia Giorgi, who is present for the first time in the eighth at Roland-Garros, will face Russian Daria Kasatkina (20th).
With Badosa’s retirement, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek was the only survivor in the top 10 heading into the second week.
Source: Radio-Canada
