Tamara sets up quarter-final clash with Paula

Iga on course; Maria, Coco too book pre-quarters berth

PARIS: Slovenia's world No. 85 Tamara Zidansek's dream run at the French Open continued as he delivered a masterful performance to beat a higher-ranked Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7-6(4), 6-1 and move into her first Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday.

Tamara will meet Paula Badosa of Spain in the quarterfinals. World No.35 Paula defeated Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Tamara, 23, also became the first Slovenian player to enter the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event since the country attained independence in 1991.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 29, fought back from a set down to beat No.15 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 and enter the quarter-finals 10 years after her maiden French Open quarter-final appearance, in 2011.

This is the seventh Grand Slam quarter-final for Anastasia, and her first outside Australia in five years.

Later on Saturday, World No.9 and defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland was tested in the first set before she pressed the accelerator to get past No.30 seed Anett Kontaveit from Estonia 7-6(4), 6-0 in the third round.

Iga will next face 18-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who became the youngest woman from her country to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam after a 6-1, 6-2 win over Russian Varvara Gracheva.

No.17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece secured a hard-fought victory over No.14 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2 in a nearly three-hour contest to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the first time in her career.

Maria will now take on last year's finalist, American Sofia Kenin, in the pre-quarterfinals.

No.4 seed Sofia overcame first-set blues to beat compatriot and No.28 seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-1 6-4 for a berth in the fourth round for the third year running.

No.24 seed Coco Gauff of the US also made it to the pre-quarterfinals here for the first time after her compatriot, No.13 seed Jennifer Brady, retired due to a foot injury after losing the first set 1-6.

Gauff will next have to beat No. 25 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the round of 16. Ons shook off a rough first set to eventually get past Magda Linette of Poland, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. IANS

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