Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised past China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-3 6-1 on Friday, reaching the fourth round of the French Open for the sixth year in a row.
The finalist in 2021 sent more than 30 winners to wrap up the match in just 91 minutes, setting up a meeting with Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who stunned sixth seed Andrey Rublev earlier on Friday.
Zhang became the first Chinese man in 86 years to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros last year en route to the third round, but could not improve on that showing as he was never able to set up a break-point chance.
“It’s great to see myself in a position to get out there and play so effectively but also accurately at the same time,” said Tsitsipas, ranking it among the best performances he has produced at the clay court tournament.
“I feel like my shots were very precise. Wherever I was aiming, I was able to produce some really high-quality shots.”
The ninth-ranked Tsitsipas came charging out of the gate, winning the first three games, and kept up the momentum as he broke Zhang on his second try in the opening game of the second set.
Tsitsipas played pristine tennis, producing just three unforced errors in the second set, as he broke Zhang again in the ninth game.
Zhang struggled with his forehand late in the match and sent shots out of bounds on back-to-back points to hand Tsitsipas the break in the fourth game of the third set, and the Greek ran away with it from there.
Tsitsipas, who picked up his third Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo last month, said he would need to approach his next opponent Arnaldi with caution.
“I have been keeping an eye on him. I know exactly what kind of a profile of player he is,” he told reporters.
“He’s a very good fighter. When it comes to the battle, he will fight and he will not give up. This is something for sure that I do expect.”
Easy for Swiatek, Sinner but raging Rublev falls after meltdown
Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner kept their cool to breeze into the French Open fourth round on another damp day at Roland Garros on Friday but the red mist descended on Andrey Rublev who raged and ranted before becoming the highest men’s seed to crash out.
Poland’s three-times champion Swiatek could not have asked for a more fitting venue than Court Philippe Chatrier to celebrate her 23rd birthday and the top seed gave herself the perfect gift with a 6-4 6-2 thumping of Czech Marie Bouzkova.
Sinner also soaked up plenty of applause under the roof as the Australian Open champion dismantled Russian Pavel Kotov 6-4 6-4 6-4 while third seed Coco Gauff and eighth seed Ons Jabeur were also home and dry without too much fuss.
As grey clouds gathered over Roland Garros for a sixth day, spectators at Suzanne Lenglen sensed a big storm brewing inside Rublev’s head and the sixth seed let his emotions take over in his 7-6(6) 6-2 6-4 defeat by Matteo Arnaldi.
Rublev screamed at himself as the match began to slip away before also throwing his racket on the ground, hitting his legs with it and kicking his courtside bench.
The scenes were reminiscent of the time he bloodied his leg with his racket at the ATP Finals in 2023 and got defaulted two months ago in Dubai for yelling at a line judge.
It was a huge letdown after the 26-year-old’s talent took the spotlight in a run to the Madrid Masters title, raising hopes that a maiden Grand Slam crown was within his grasp after reaching the last-eight at the majors 10 times.
“Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed and I don’t remember behaving worse in a Grand Slam ever,” a remorseful Rublev said.
“I think it was first time I’ve behaved that bad.”
ITALIANS’ SURFACE
Arnaldi’s Italian compatriot Elisabetta Cocciaretto also proved to be a thorn for her fancied opponent as she beat 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-6(4) 6-2.
“Italians, we were born on clay. It’s different for the other players, from China and the United States, who were born on hardcourts,” Cocciaretto said.
“For us, it’s not a comfort zone but our surface.”
Jabeur is another player who can work her magic on Parisian dirt and the Tunisian continued her latest quest to become the first Arab and African woman to win a Grand Slam by defeating Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 7-6(5).
While third seed Gauff prevailed after showing some second-set grit in a 6-2 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, her fellow American and former runner-up Sofia Kenin crashed to a 6-2 7-5 defeat at the hands of Dane Clara Tauson.
After a scare in the last round, Czech Marketa Vondrousova saw off the challenge of Chloe Paquet 6-1 6-3, while her fellow Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz is in action later in the men’s draw against American Sebastian Korda.
Korda will be looking to emulate his father Petr who reached the Roland Garros final in 1992.
Click here to change your cookie preferences