PARIS: No.20 seed Russian Daria Kasatkina continued her ruthless form at Roland Garros, defeating No.28 seed Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach the French Open quarterfinals here on Monday.
Former World No.10 Kasatkina has yet to drop a set and indeed has conceded just 14 games in four matches so far. She has only lost serve on two occasions - neither to Giorgi, against whom she saved all six breakpoints.
Kasatkina improved her head-to-head against Giorgi to 2-0, having previously beaten the Italian in the 2020 Lyon quarterfinals. Giorgi, who snapped a seven-match losing streak at tour level at Roland Garros, falls to 1-3 in Grand Slam fourth rounds, but has now reached the second week of every major except the Australian Open.
Kasatkina will next face No.29 seed Veronika Kudermetova as she bids to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. Veronika Kudermetova reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Madison Keys on Monday.
With this win Kudermetova ended the chances of four American women reaching the last eight at the French Open for the first time in two decades.
Meanwhile Casper Ruud fended off a strong comeback from Poland's Hubert Hurkacz to complete a 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the fourth round of the French Open and reached his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal here on Monday.
In a meeting between two players both making fourth-round debuts in the French capital, it was the World No. 8 Ruud who took control early as the 12th-seeded Hurkacz was unable to consistently counter the powerful ball-striking of the 23-year-old Norwegian on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Ruud demonstrated the ability to handle tough match situations on his way to the last eight in Paris. He opened with an emotional four-set win in home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's last match before retirement and came through a five-set thriller against Lorenzo Sonego in the third round.
Despite the efforts of Monte Carlo and Madrid quarter-finalist Hurkacz, Ruud was clinical in notching two breaks of his own to seal an eighth straight win and book a quarter-final appointment with Holger Rune.
19-year-old Holger Rune became the first man from Denmark to reach the Roland Garros men's singles quarter-final. He did so by stunning 4th seed and last year's finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in a 4-set thriller. The Greek star, who was on the brink in the 4th set, suddenly found another gear and got one of the 2 breaks back but Rune held his nerves and the serve to win the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.(IANS)
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