Sabalenka Powers Into French Open Last 16
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka eased into the French Open last 16 with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Serbia’s Olga Danilovic on Friday.
The world number one brushed aside her 34th-ranked rival in 79 minutes on the sun-drenched Court Philippe Chatrier.
“I’m super happy with the win, Olga is a fighter,” said three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka.
“Here it’s about dreams, I give my all,” added the Belarusian, who has never gone past the semi-finals in Paris.
The 27-year-old next plays 16th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Anisimova ousted Danish 22nd seed Clara Tauson 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in their third-round tie.
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner ended the retiring Richard Gasquet’s career with a one-sided victory at the French Open on Thursday, while Novak Djokovic successfully continued his Grand Slam record bid at Roland Garros.
World number one Sinner had no trouble in seeing off the 38-year-old Gasquet, playing at the tournament for the 22nd and final time, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in under two hours.
Sinner made his comeback from a three-month doping ban at the Italian Open earlier in May, reaching the final before losing in straight sets to reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz.
He was in fine form against Gasquet, saving three break points to serve out the first set before dominating the rest of the match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
