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Mayar Sherif ‘proud’ of Roland Garros performance against Coco Gauff, who hailed Egyptian’s ‘bravery’

PARIS: Mayar Sherif’s journey at this year’s Roland Garros came to an end on Thursday with a second-round defeat to defending champion Coco Gauff but the Egyptian says she leaves Paris feeling “proud” of her performances and “motivated” for what’s to come. Sherif, who won four matches in Paris through qualifying and main draw, pushed Gauff hard across their one-hour 50-minute battle on Court Suzanne-Lenglen before falling to the American No. 4 seed 6-3, 6-2. Gauff later hailed Sherif’s “bravery” and said the Egyptian world No.

Marta Kostyuk extends clay winning streak to 15 matches to reach fourth round at French Open

PARIS: Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine beat Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-3 Friday to reach the fourth round at the French Open for the second time, setting up a big match against four-time champion Iga Swiatek. The 15th-ranked player is in an excellent run of form and extended her winning streak on clay to 15 matches. 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.

Defending champion Gauff earns straight sets win against qualifier Sherif

PARIS: Defending champion ‌Coco Gauff eased past Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif 6-3 6-2 on Thursday to punch her ticket for the French Open third round. The American, who landed her 80th career main draw victory at a Grand Slam, never hit top form, with her opponent offering some dogged resistance in the first set and keeping her off balance. “It was a physical tough match. I was really tested today.

Top seed Sabalenka survives first set wobble to beat Jacquemot

PARIS: Top seed ‌Aryna Sabalenka overcame a first-set scare to beat France’s Elsa Jacquemot 7-5 6-2 on Thursday and move into the French Open third round. The Belarusian, last year’s losing finalist, was made to work hard for about an hour, with the local hero delighting home fans with several spectacular winners. A four-time Grand ‌Slam champion, ‌Sabalenka is still looking ‌to ⁠land her first ⁠French Open title. The world number one earned an early break with a powerful forehand to go 3-1 up but Jacquemot broke straight back.

Sinner appears to be struggling with the heat in French Open second round

PARIS: Top-ranked Jannik Sinner appears to be struggling with the heat during his second-round match at the French Open against 56th-ranked Argentine opponent Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday. Sinner was serving for the match at 5-4, 0-40 in the third set when he bent over on the court and then walked to his chair. He asked for assistance and left the court.

Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste withdraw from French Open women’s doubles

PARIS: Venus Williams will not play in the women’s doubles at the French Open alongside Hailey Baptiste. They withdrew on Thursday and no reason was given by organizers. But Baptiste was forced to retire during her second-round singles against Wang Xiyu on Wednesday after landing awkwardly on her left leg late in the first set. The Americans were replaced by Eudice Chong and Veronika Rejvec in the draw. Williams, who turns 46 next month, was a singles wild-card entry at the Australian Open. She lost in the first round and became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw. A seven-time major singles winner, Williams previously held the No.

Scorching heat, faster courts test players at French Open

PARIS: Sweltering conditions during the opening week ‌of this year’s French Open have added a fresh challenge, with players including Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina saying success will hinge on who adapts best over the course of the tournament. Like much of Western Europe, France is experiencing higher-than-normal temperatures in May, with the mercury climbing past 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) in Paris and baking the red clay at Roland Garros on the opening four days. While the dry heat falls short of furnace-like conditions often seen at the Australian Open in January, it has quickened the courts and tested players by placing a premium on managing their bodies and constructing points carefully. In hot conditions, the ball travels faster through the air and bounces higher off the ‌dry clay, ‌shortening reaction times, quickening rallies and making control tougher, especially ‌in ⁠longer exchanges as ⁠players adjust to the livelier surface. “I think in tennis you’re used to it,” seventh seed Elina Svitolina told reporters after her efficient 6-0 6-4 win over Kaitlin Quevedo in the second round. “Every single day is a different story. Even when you’re playing in the same tournament, you can play in the morning, you can play at night.

Swiatek sees off Bejlek to reach third round at French Open

PARIS: Iga Swiatek navigated her way into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-3 success over world number 35 Sara Bejlek. The four-time Roland Garros champion is seeking to reclaim the title she won three times consecutively between 2022 and 2024, before losing out at the semifinal stage to top seed Aryna Sabalenka last season. Swiatek, 24, has recently teamed up with Rafael Nadal’s former coach Francisco Roig and has been preparing for the clay-court Grand Slam at the Spanish great’s tennis academy in Mallorca. “I spent a week in Mallorca, which is amazing, because starting the clay-court season there gave me a lot of motivation,” Swiatek said on court. After a comfortable opening win in Paris against Australian wildcard Emerson Jones, the Pole faced a tougher challenge in the round of 64 against Abu Dhabi winner Bejlek. “She has a tricky style of game … she mixes up the rhythm quite well,” Swiatek added of her 20-year-old opponent, who she played for the first time. With a slight blustering wind creeping across center court, which the sun-drenched spectators doubtless appreciated, both players struggled on serve initially with three consecutive breaks in the early exchanges. Swiatek then looked to have firmly gained the upper hand from the baseline but Bejlek battled to stay with the former world number one and saved a set point to break back to 5-2 — Swiatek finishing that game with back-to-back double faults. But the diminutive Czech’s own service problems came back to bite her as Swiatek broke for the fourth time to claim the opener. Swiatek held serve to claim a mammoth opening game in the second frame as both women found their range with their groundstrokes. But Swiatek proved the more

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French Open Sport News

Mayar Sherif ‘proud’ of Roland Garros performance against Coco Gauff, who hailed Egyptian’s ‘bravery’

Marta Kostyuk extends clay winning streak to 15 matches to reach fourth round at French Open

Defending champion Gauff earns straight sets win against qualifier Sherif

Top seed Sabalenka survives first set wobble to beat Jacquemot

Sinner appears to be struggling with the heat in French Open second round

Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste withdraw from French Open women’s doubles

Scorching heat, faster courts test players at French Open

Swiatek sees off Bejlek to reach third round at French Open