Swiatek, Andreeva advance to last 16 at French Open

PARIS: Iga Swiatek booked her place in the last 16 of the French Open on Friday, while Novak Djokovic will seek to capitalise on an unexpectedly open draw following the shock exit of Jannik Sinner.
Four-time women's champion Swiatek beat Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 to begin play on Court Philippe Chatrier, with temperatures set to climb to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) later in the day.
Third seed Swiatek dug herself out of an early 2-0 hole against the 35th-ranked Linette, who won their most recent meeting at Miami in March.
Swiatek broke three times in the opening set to nose ahead, and then surged into a 4-1 lead in the second set.
She overcame a stumble as she tried to close it out, before sealing victory to set up an intriguing match-up with the in-form Marta Kostyuk.
'It was a good match. I played much better than Miami,' said Swiatek, who moved to appoint Francisco Roig, a longtime coach of Rafael Nadal, in the wake of her loss to Linette two months ago.
Kostyuk, the 15th seed, continued her fine run with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic.
She is unbeaten in 15 matches on clay this season following titles in Madrid and Rouen.
'Marta is having a great season. She always had a game to play well,' said Swiatek.
'So good for her. But I'm going to focus on myself, prepare tactically, as before any other match, and we'll see.'
Later on Friday, Djokovic will resume his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic has been stuck on 24 majors since the 2023 US Open but may not get a better chance to add to that haul with Sinner out and Carlos Alcaraz absent in Paris.
Standing in his way in the third round is Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, the highly-rated 19-year-old who is itching to make his Grand Slam breakthrough.
'Fonseca has been praised so much in the last couple of years,' said Djokovic, who made his Roland Garros debut in 2005, a year before Fonseca was born.
'I think his potential and quality as a tennis player is obvious, no doubt about it. He's got big Brazilian support anywhere he goes. I think he's a big-stage player. He really loves the occasion.'

ANDREEVA BEATS BOUZKOVA
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva swept into the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Czech 27th seed Marie Bouzkova.
The eighth-seeded Andreeva goes on to face either 2023 French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova or Jil Teichmann on Sunday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Andreeva's best Grand Slam run came at Roland Garros in 2024 when she reached the semifinals.
The 19-year-old Russian survived a break point in the sixth game of the match before breaking herself in the ninth. She then served out comfortably for the set.
Andreeva immediately broke the Czech again to start the second set and then broke again, to love, in the seventh game as she won in one hour 35 minutes.
'I was very happy I was able to close the first set despite missing some shots,' said Andreeva on court at the end. 'Very happy I was able to play aggressive throughout the match.'
Andreeva said the first-week heat wave suited her game and she preferred playing in the afternoon before the courts cooled.
'When it's hot and its sunny I feel I have an advantage because when the ball is bouncing I can get a better shape on it,' she said.
In the last 16, Andreeva will face Jil Teichmann after the Swiss player beat Czech Karolina Muchova.
TEICHMANN OUSTS MUCHOVA
Switzerland's Jil ⁠Teichmann dazzled against Czech Karolina Muchova, a former ​French Open runner-up, ​winning 6-1, 7-5 at Roland Garros on Friday, making it to the last 16 for the first time since 2022.
The 28-year-old Swiss, who dropped to world number 170 ⁠following a sabbatical last year, made a commanding ⁠start against Muchova, the world number 10, dominating the opening set and losing only a single game.
Teichmann, who ‌reached the semifinals in Rabat ​last week, carried ⁠her claycourt momentum into Roland Garros, ​demonstrating her prowess on ‌her favourite surface.
Despite a resurgent Muchova building a commanding 5-1 ​lead in the second set, Teichmann mounted a remarkable comeback, combining relentless grit with precise groundstrokes to win six games in a row and seal the match.
'I ‌was not thinking of, oh, I'm going to ​turn it around like that to do six games ​in ‌a ⁠row, but I was just going point by point, being in the present and it worked ​out very well,' Teichmann said.
After ⁠Muchova, who ​was a finalist in Paris in 2021, Teichmann will meet Andreeva in the next round.
'Obviously it's going to be a ​tough match,' she said. 'I'm ready, I'm here ​to play, so I'm looking forward to it.' — Agencies
French Open results
Men (third round)
Andrey Rublev (RUS x11) bt Nuno Borges (POR) 7-5, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2)
Women (third round)
Marta Kostyuk (UKR x15) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-4, 6-3; Iga Swiatek (POL x3) bt Magda Linette (POL) 6-4, 6-4; Mirra Andreeva (RUS x8) bt Marie Bouzkova (CZE x27) 6-4, 6-2; Jil Teichmann (SUI) bt Karolina Muchova (CZE x10) 6-1, 7-5; Sorana Cirstea (ROM x18) bt Solana Sierra (ARG) 6-0, 6-0; Wang Xiyu (CHN) bt Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR) 6-3, 7-5