PARIS: Zheng Qinwen ended Iga Swiatek’s 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros on Thursday to become the first Chinese player to reach an Olympic Games singles final as Carlos Alcaraz marched closer to a showdown with Novak Djokovic.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev, however, crashed out, losing his quarter-final to a fired-up Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.
Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world number one Swiatek and will face either Croatia’s Donna Vekic or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the gold medal match.a“I feel more than just happy — happy isn’t enough to describe how I feel,” said Zheng, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semifinal.
“If you ask me to play another three hours for my country, I would. It was an amazing match. To beat Iga is not easy.”
Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, went into the match at a sweltering Court Philippe Chatrier having not lost in Paris since 2021.
The 23-year-old had also defeated Zheng in all of their six previous meetings.
However, she was hit off the court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist who broke the Pole three times in the opening set.
Swiatek appeared restored by a 10-minute break and quickly stretched out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Zheng battled back, retrieving both breaks for 4-4.
The Chinese star broke again for a 6-5 lead against the error-plagued Swiatek and claimed victory in the next game.
By making the final, Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of Li Na who finished fourth in the women’s event at Beijing in 2008.
China’s only Olympics tennis gold came thanks to Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women’s doubles at Athens in 2004.
Alcaraz, back at Roland Garros where he won a maiden French Open in June, became the youngest Olympic semifinalist since Djokovic in 2008.
The second seed saw off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a break down in the second set and saving a set point in the tie-break.
“It’s all about the fight,” said Alcaraz, who was playing the day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles loss in what was probably the veteran’s final appearance at Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the final.
Wimbledon semifinalist Musetti stunned Zverev 7-5, 7-5 on the back of 20 winners as the 16th-ranked Italian continued his storming Olympics run.
The 22-year-old was playing a tour final in Umag in Croatia on Saturday night and only arrived in Paris on Sunday morning, just hours before his first-round clash.
Musetti has made the semifinals without dropping a set as he became the first Italian man to reach the singles semifinals since tennis returned to the Olympics in Seoul in 1988.
The Italian will face either top seed Djokovic, who beat him in the Wimbledon semifinals, or Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the gold medal match.
Djokovic, still seeking an elusive Olympic gold medal to add to his 24 Grand Slam titles, takes on Tsitsipas on the same court where in 2021 he battled back from two sets down to defeat the Greek in the French Open final.
The Serb has coasted through the first three rounds in Paris and will be buoyed by his 11-2 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas.
That run also included victory in the final of the 2023 Australian Open final while Tsitsipas’s last win over the Djokovic came back in 2019.
Paul will return to the courts later Thursday when he teams up with Taylor Fritz in a men’s doubles quarter-final which could mark the end of Andy Murray’s career.
Murray and Dan Evans will face the US third seeds for a place in the semifinals.
Murray, a former world number one and three-time Grand Slam singles champion, has already announced his intention to retire after the Olympics.
The 37-year-old and Evans have endured a roller-coaster Olympics so far, saving seven match points over two rounds.
Zheng stuns Swiatek at Olympics as Alcaraz closes in on Djokovic clash
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Zheng stuns Swiatek at Olympics as Alcaraz closes in on Djokovic clash
- Defending champion Alexander Zverev, however, crashed out, losing his quarter-final to a fired-up Lorenzo Musetti of Italy
- Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world number one Swiatek
Djokovic tames Alcaraz; Sabalenka keeps Melbourne hat trick alive
- The 37-year-old Serb, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown, outlasted the Spaniard, 16 years his junior, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 despite having his left thigh heavily strapped
MELBOURNE: Ageless Novak Djokovic won an epic generational clash against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday to stay on track for an 11th Australian Open title with Alexander Zverev next in the semifinals.
The 37-year-old Serb, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown, outlasted the Spaniard, 16 years his junior, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 despite having his left thigh heavily strapped.
It was a vintage 3hrs 37mins performance and put him into the last four at Melbourne Park for a 12th time, with only Roger Federer (15) doing so more often.
The win also extended his all-time record for most Grand Slam semifinal appearances to 50, four clear of the Swiss great.
To reach another final, he will need to beat second seed Zverev, who battled into the last four for a second year running with a 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/0), 2-6, 6-1 win over American 12th seed Tommy Paul.
As the wind swirled, Djokovic opened with a commanding hold then broke immediately as Alcaraz struggled to find his range.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka battled through “unbelievable” windy conditions Tuesday to reach the Melbourne semifinals and keep her dream of an Australian Open hat-trick alive.
The world No. 1 faces Spain’s Paula Badosa for a place in the final after grinding past Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena.
“The conditions were unbelievable. The wind was so strong. It was very difficult for both of us,” said Sabalenka, who can become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1999 to win the Australian Open three years in a row.
If she does, she will join a select group of five women who have completed the Melbourne three-peat. The others are Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
“I’m really happy that I put myself in this situation where I have the opportunity to become one of them,” said Sabalenka.
“To be next to those names, wow, that’s just a dream.”
The 11th seed Badosa earlier stunned world No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets to reach her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 27.
“She’s a great player and she has been through a lot. Now she’s back on her best game. I’m really happy to see that,” said Sabalenka of Badosa, who a year ago almost quit tennis because of a chronic back condition.
Sabalenka’s 19th win in a row at Melbourne Park turned into a battle for survival in increasingly blustery conditions.
Swiatek steps into unknown against Navarro in Melbourne quarters
- All the Pole’s wins in Melbourne have come in straight sets and she has dropped only 11 games
MELBOURNE: Iga Swiatek said Monday she was stepping into the unknown against Emma Navarro after the pair had wildly contrasting runs to their Australian Open quarterfinal clash.
Swiatek showed no mercy to end “lucky loser” Eva Lys’s historic run, marching into the last eight 6-0, 6-1 in an hour.
All the Pole’s wins in Melbourne have come in straight sets and she has dropped only 11 games.
By contrast, Navarro spent 2hr 40min on court, blowing three second-set match points before beating Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 as she was taken the distance for a fourth match in a row.
“I don’t know what I’m expecting,” said five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek of the American Navarro.
“We played in 2018, but I’m not going to count this.
“I have to treat Emma as someone that I never played. We both made huge progress since that time. It’s a bit different when you don’t know the opponent that well.”
The world No. 2 has spent less than five hours on court at the first Grand Slam of the year, while eighth seed Navarro has been extended to more than double that playing time.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic got the mea culpas he wanted from a local broadcaster and its employee who insulted him on the air and so, according to tournament organizers, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is ready to concentrate on his quarterfinal showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.
“Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested," read a statement issued Monday by Tennis Australia, "and is now moving on and focusing on his next match.”
Also on Monday, Jannik Sinner battled dizzy spells to reach an Australian Open quarterfinal against Alex de Minaur, admitting a long interruption when he accidentally broke the net was “big, big luck.”
The world No. 1 and defending champion dropped a set before coming home 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Danish 13th seed Holger Rune on Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner struggled in the hot Melbourne conditions, his hand visibly shaking and his heart rate taken in the third set before he left court for a medical timeout.
There was then a bizarre 20-minute delay when Sinner demolished the metal brace that secures the net to the floor with a thunderous serve early in set four.
“I was not feeling really well. You know, I think we saw that today I was struggling physically,” said Sinner, 23, who is bidding to become the first Italian man to win three Grand Slam crowns.
He refused to say exactly what was wrong with him, only that he was “not there health-wise” and had been “a bit dizzy at times.”
“I don’t want to go into details. I think it was, you know, then also with the pressure and everything, it was not easy.”
He admitted that the time off court in air-conditioning while officials repaired the net helped him refresh.
“I was lucky today that ... 20 minutes off court, you know, trying to get back physically, putting some cold water in my head, it was very helpful. It was big, big luck to me today.”
Sinner is bidding to defend a Grand Slam title for the first time after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final last year.
His win put him into a clash against home hope De Minaur, who brushed past American Alex Michelsen 6-0, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to make his maiden Australian Open quarterfinal.
De Minaur wiped the floor with Michelsen in the opening set, but his serve then faltered and he was forced to a close tiebreak after the American staged a fightback.
But De Minaur broke with a forehand winner in the sixth game of the third set and pulled away for the win.
“It means the world,” said De Minaur. “There’s nothing I want to do more than play well here in Australia. So glad I finally made the quarterfinals ... But let’s go for bigger and better things.”
As temperatures rose above 30 Celsius, Sinner assumed control against Rune by breaking to love.
Australian broadcaster apologizes to Djokovic, Serbian fans
- 24-time Grand Slam champion declined to do the customary on-court interview after his fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday
MELBOURNE: Australian broadcaster Tony Jones has apologized to Novak Djokovic and fans of the Serbian for comments he made on TV on Friday night that the 10-times Australian Open champion considered “insulting and offensive.”
Djokovic declined to do the customary on-court interview after his fourth-round victory over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday pending a public apology from Jones and Australian broadcast rights holders Channel Nine.
Jones had mocked Djokovic and the Serbian fans who had gathered outside Channel Nine’s broadcast booth at Melbourne Park on Friday, saying the 24-times Grand Slam champion was “over-rated” and a “has been.”
In an interview on the channel on Monday, Jones said he thought the comments had been “banter” and he had immediately made a private apology to the “Djokovic camp” once he realized they had not been taken in humor.
“I can stand by that apology to Novak,” he said. “I should also say the disrespect was extended, in many ways, to the Serbian fans.
“We have built up a nice rapport with the Serbian fans ... and there was banter, and I thought what I was doing was an extension of that banter. Quite clearly that has not been interpreted that way.
“I feel as though I’ve let down the Serbian fans.”
Jones said the one comment he particularly regretted was “kick him out,” which he accepted could only be construed as a reference to Djokovic’s deportation from Australia in a row over his COVID vaccination status in early 2022.
“That has angered Novak which I completely understand now,” Jones said.
“It has been an unfortunate situation, it has been one of personal angst for Novak, it’s quite clearly personal angst for me as well.”
Tennis Australia said Djokovic, who takes on world number three Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, wanted to move on from the issue.
“Novak acknowledges the apology has been given in public as requested, and is now moving on and focusing on his next match,” it added in a statement.
Elina Svitolina rallies to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time
- The 30-year-old Ukrainian is into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the 12th time
MELBOURNE: Elina Svitolina was 4-1 down before she went on a roll and took 11 of the next 12 games in a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Veronika Kudermetova on Monday to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third time.
The 30-year-old Ukrainian is into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the 12th time. It’s her first time back in the quarterfinals in Australia since 2019.
“Feels like a lifetime ago,” Svitolina said. Since her last run this far at Melbourne Park, she married French player Gael Monfils in 2021 and the pair had a daughter, Skai, in 2022. “Many things happened and I’m really pleased with the performance throughout the tournament. Really enjoying this win today.”
After dropping two early service games, Svitolina said she her only goal “was just trying to fight.”
“It’s the only thing I can do when things are not going your way, put your head down and get back to work,” she said. “Really happy I could come (back) into the match and then win in straight sets.”
Svitolina, the No. 28 seed, wore a red dress, red shoes and a red cap for the match. People in the crowd waved the yellow and blue Ukraine flag.
Kudermetova took a medical timeout for on-court treatment on her abdomen after falling behind 5-4 the first set.
She left the court for treatment after losing the first set in 50 minutes. Svitolina held to open the second set and then had a breakpoint but Kudermetova saved and held for 1-1, following up a forehand winner down the line with a loud roar.
That was the end of her celebrating.
It wasn’t just power and pace from Svitolina that was the difference between the pair. After bringing Kudermetova to the net with a drop shot and then lobbing over her to start the next game, Svitolina punched the air.
There was no handshake at the net with Kudermeotva, a 27-year-old from Russia, but no animosity, either.
Svitolina will be playing in the quarterfinals against either 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or No. 19 Madison Keys.
Svitolina’s husband, Monfils, was playing later Monday against No. 21 seed Ben Shelton on Margaret Court Arena. The 38-year-old Frenchman reached the fourth round with an upset over fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz, the US Open runner-up last year.
Svitolina, who beat fourth-seeded Jasmine Paolini in the third round, said she hoped to be courtside for Monfils’ match.
“Playing the way that he plays right now, it’s special,” she said.
Other quarterfinalists will be decided when defending champion Jannik Sinner and No. 13 seed Holger Rune meet in an afternoon match and five-time major winner Iga Swiatek takes on Eva Lys, the lucky loser from qualifying, in a night match.
Djokovic sets up Alcaraz clash, Sabalenka surges into quarters
- Double defending champion Sabalenka is on a collision course with in-form world No. 3 Coco Gauff in the semifinals in Melbourne if both win in the last eight
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic surged into an Australian Open quarterfinal clash against Carlos Alcaraz with a dominant straight-sets victory on Sunday while women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was a ruthless winner.
Double defending champion Sabalenka is on a collision course with in-form world No. 3 Coco Gauff in the semifinals in Melbourne if both win in the last eight.
On the hottest day of the tournament so far with temperatures hitting 34 degrees Celsius, Alcaraz went through when Britain’s Jack Draper retired injured.
The 37-year-old Djokovic then kept up his end of the bargain with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over Czech 24th seed Jiri Lehecka in the prime-time match on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic appears to be growing into the tournament in an ominous sign for his rivals, as he pursues a record-extending 11th Melbourne crown and historic 25th Grand Slam title.
He dropped a set in each of his opening two matches but has won the previous two in straight sets.
Djokovic and Alcaraz have played each other seven times with the Serb leading 4-3, including victory in their last clash in the Paris Olympics final.
But they have never played at Melbourne Park, where Djokovic has achieved his greatest success.
“When we are seeing him playing, he seems like he’s young again ... it’s unbelievable. He’s in a really good shape,” said Alcaraz, who has vowed to get a kangaroo tattoo if he wins the Australian Open for the first time.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, who has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in Melbourne, was leading 7-5, 6-1 when Draper pulled the plug.
Draper had come through all three of his previous matches in five sets, and all from 2-1 down, and it appeared to have taken its toll.
“It’s not the way I wanted to win, but obviously I’m happy to play another quarterfinal here in Australia,” said Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old Draper, whose rise has been held back by issues with his body, said his hip injury had been a “ticking time bomb” and he had “multiple areas really in pain.”
American 12th seed Tommy Paul destroyed Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the loss of just three games as he bids to match or better his semifinal appearance from 2023.
Paul will meet German second seed Alexander Zverev, who survived a mid-match wobble to oust France’s Ugo Humbert.
Zverev, who is zeroing in on a maiden Grand Slam title, won 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Sabalenka blew away Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in a chilling warning to sweep into the quarterfinals.
The Belarusian was out on a roasting center court for only 62 minutes before registering an 18th consecutive win at Melbourne Park.
“I’m super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets,” said Sabalenka, who faces Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next.
Sabalenka struggled with her serve in colder conditions during the first week, but was untouchable as the mercury soared.
“The ball was flying like a rocket,” said Sabalenka.
A dangerous Gauff faces Spain’s 11th seed Paula Badosa after the American fought back to beat Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
Gauff dropped a set for the first time in 2025 but extended her unbeaten streak to 13 matches going back to last year’s WTA Tour Finals.
“Two out of three sets at this stage of my career is not that physically hard for me,” said the 20-year-old Gauff, who is chasing a first Melbourne title.
“The off-season I just put in so much work physically so I’m not worried at all about recovering emotionally or mentally.”
Badosa declared she “loves” Gauff — but said that will not prevent her looking for “revenge.”
The pair have a 3-3 head-to-head record but Gauff won both their meetings in 2024, with each going to three sets.
The last time was in the semifinals of the WTA China Open in Beijing, where Gauff won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on her way to lifting the title.
