Kalinskaya holds nerve to beat Potapova, reach Paris quarterfinals

PARIS: Anna Kalinskaya reached her maiden French Open quarterfinal with a 6-4 2-6 7-6(10-7) win over 28th seed Anastasia Potapova on Monday, marking only the second time the Russian has entered that stage of a Grand Slam.

Kalinskaya, who also made the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2024, will attempt to better that result at Roland Garros when ‌she plays either ‌Frenchwoman Diane Parry or Pole ‌Maja Chwalinska.

The women’s field at the French Open is wide open with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka the top contender following early exits for defending champion Coco Gauff and four-time Paris winner Iga Swiatek.

Potapova, who knocked out defending champion Gauff in the ‌third round, started ‌strongly and racked up a 4-1 lead in ‌double quick time, before she lost her ‌grip on a wildly swinging first set.

Having taken the opener, Kalinskaya endured moments of frustration in the second as Potapova built a ‌3-1 lead, and the 22nd seed was unable to prevent the match from going to a decider on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Nervy games by Potapova handed Kalinskaya a 4-1 lead in the third set, but the Russian-born Austrian fought back and served for the match at 5-4, only to be broken again.

After further momentum shifts, the tense third set went into a match tiebreak, and Kalinskaya held her nerve to prevail after two hours and 49 minutes.

Tenth-seed Flavio Cobolli ‌dropped his first set of the tournament but beat unseeded American Zachary Svajda en route to a 6-2 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(5) on Monday to book his spot in the last eight.

The 24-year-old Italian has reached the quartefinals of a Grand Slam for the second time after last year’s run to the last eight at Wimbledon. He was the only player left ‌in the ‌draw in Paris not to have