PARIS (AP) — Still unbeaten on clay this season, Marta Kostyuk reached the fourth round at the French Open for the second time on Friday and set up a big match against four-time champion Iga Swiatek.
The 15th-ranked Ukrainian is in an excellent run of form and extended her winning streak on clay to 15 matches with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Viktorija Golubic on yet another hot day in Paris. Ahead of Roland Garros, she won in Madrid — the biggest title of her career — after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.
She previously reached the fourth round in Paris in 2021, when she lost to Swiatek. A rematch is coming up next after Swiatek defeated fellow Polish player Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4.
“Marta is having a great season,” said Swiatek, who has not won a title on clay since the 2024 French Open. “She always had a game to play well. Did some semifinals of big tournaments before. Now she won Madrid. So good for her.”
Swiatek, however, has won in straight sets all three times she has played Kostyuk and has experience on her side in Paris, holding a 43-3 record overall at Roland Garros.
“I’m still the person who lost to her three times, and she’s won this tournament four times,” Kostyuk said. “I would love to be the one who is a favorite in this match, but I still don’t think it’s the case, even though I have this really long streak.”
Double bagel
Also advancing to the fourth round was 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea, who routed Solana Sierra and became the oldest player in the Open Era to claim a 6-0 6-0 win in a Grand Slam tournament. She will next face Wang Xiyu of China, who beat Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3, 7-5. The Chinese qualifier has still not dropped a set in her campaign.
Eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva progressed with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Czech opponent Marie Bouzkova. Andreeva leads the women’s tour with 32 victories this season. Her fourth-round match pits her against Jill Teichmann, who beat 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova 6-1, 7-5.
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Source: Sports Tennis – The Score WTA
