PARIS: Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem reached his third successive French Open quarter-final on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
Thiem, the only man to defeat 10-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal on clay this year, will face German second seed Alexander Zverev for a place in the semi-finals.
Today’s win for 24-year-old Thiem was his first over Japanese 19th seed Nishikori who had won their previous matches on grass at Halle in 2015 and on clay in Rome in 2016.
Relevant pieces published earlier:
i) Serena Williams set up a mouth-watering French Open showdown against bitter rival Maria Sharapova on Saturday as Rafael Nadal kept his bid for the 11th title on track with a 16th successive win over childhood pal Richard Gasquet. Three-time champion Williams made nonsense of her 451 world ranking to reach the last-16 with a ruthless 6-3, 6-4 romp past German 11th seed Julia Goerges. Sharapova, the 2012 and 2014 winner in Paris, was equally impressive, seeing off Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1. Sharapova and Williams have met 21 times, with the American leading the head-to-head record 19-2 after 18 consecutive wins.
The Russian has not beaten her nemesis since 2004 – before even the birth of Twitter and YouTube. Williams, the champion in 2002, 2013 and 2015 and playing her first Slam since giving birth to her daughter in September, last played a major at the Australian Open in 2017 while two months pregnant. Playing again in her striking all-black catsuit, the 36-year-old fired 20 winners past Goerges while committing just 12 unforced errors, three of which were in the first set. “I think there are a lot of things in her game that she’s done much better than I have… Numbers don’t lie,” admitted Sharapova of facing her fellow former world number one. (3rd of June, 2018)
ii) Maria Sharapova set up a potential last-16 clash with Serena Williams by crushing sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1 in the French Open third round today. The five-time Grand Slam champion produced one of her best performances since returning from a doping ban, cruising to a totally one-sided win in her first match on Court Philippe Chatrier for three years. “I knew I had to play well against a tough opponent. I managed to stay aggressive and I played smart as well,” said Sharapova, who delighted a half-full Chatrier by thanking them for their support in French.
The Russian, winner in Paris in 2012 and 2014, is seeded at a major for the first time since testing positive for meldonium two years ago. A fired-up Sharapova powered 18 winners past her fellow former world number one Pliskova, with the Czech never threatening any resistance in a match which lasted just 59 minutes. She will next face either 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams or German 11th seed Julia Goerges, who play later on Saturday, in the fourth round. Sharapova and Serena have met 21 times, with the American leading the head-to-head record 19-2 after 18 consecutive wins dating back to 2004. (2nd of June, 2018)
iii) Two-time champion Maria Sharapova edged closer to a possible French Open last-16 duel with Serena Williams by seeing off Croatia’s Donna Vekic 7-5, 6-4 in the second round today. Former world number one Sharapova, seeded 28 this year, will face Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova for a place in the fourth round. Old rival Serena could be a possible opponent but the three-time champion still has her second round to play Thursday against Australia’s Ashleigh Barty. Sharapova, the champion in Paris in 2012 and 2014, is playing Roland Garros for the first time since 2015.
The 31-year-old was serving a doping ban in 2015 and was refused a wildcard by Roland Garros organizers last year Rafael Nadal stormed into the French Open third round today as he continued his bid for an 11th title by sweeping aside Argentinian Guido Pella 6-2, 6-1, 6-1. The top seed had struggled past lucky loser Simone Bolelli in the first round but was back to his best as he raced through the last two sets in just 65 minutes. The 31-year-old will next face home favorite and his old junior rival Richard Gasquet, whom he has beaten 15 times from as many meetings in professional tennis.
“I’m very happy, I played more aggressive than in the first round, so I’m very happy with that,” said Nadal. “Richard (Gasquet) is a very good friend. We’ve known each other since we were 11 or 12 years old so it will be very special to play again against him on such an important court (Philippe Chatrier) for my career.” Making a rare appearance on the secondary Court Suzanne Lenglen, Nadal was almost caught a cold in the very first game as he was forced to save four break points, but he quickly found his groove and broke for a 4-2 lead.
World number 78 Pella did his best to resist the great Spaniard, saving four set points, but hit a forehand into the net on the fifth. The rest of the match was totally one-sided, as the 16-time Grand Slam champion finished with 24 forehand winners against an outclassed opponent. Meanwhile, top seed Simona Halep reached the French Open third round today with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Taylor Townsend of the United States. Halep, twice a runner-up in Paris, will face Germany’s Andrea Petkovic for a place in the last 16. Petkovic was a semi-finalist in 2014 and was once ranked in the top 10 but has slipped to 107 after an injury-blighted few seasons.
