Kostyuk compounds French Open chaos by crushing Swiatek in last 16

PARIS, May 31 : Iga Swiatek's 25th birthday celebrations turned sour at the French Open on Sunday as the former champion lost 7-5 6-1 to 15th seed Marta Kostyuk and her hunt for a fifth title ended just when she had looked to be rediscovering her form.

Swiatek's shock loss comes amid a chaotic spell at Roland Garros, during which men's world number one Jannik Sinner, 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and defending women's champion Coco Gauff all went out in the last three days.

It leaves world number one Aryna Sabalenka as favourite to capture her first title in Paris, though Ukrainian Kostyuk will be one to watch as she builds on the momentum that has helped her sparkle on clay this season.

"I'm still in shock," Kostyuk said in an on-court interview.

"I feel like I've given myself more space to just create something, to challenge my opponents. I woke up in the morning and all I thought was 'what an unbelievable day I have to live today ... there's nothing I could do other than this'.

"I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I'm not playing tennis to win. I'm playing tennis because I love it. I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy ... make people happy and unite people."

TOUGH DAY

It was a tough day for Swiatek, who forged her reputation as the Queen of Clay, as the Pole crashed to her earliest defeat at Roland Garros since her debut campaign in 2019.

Swiatek has now gone two years without claiming a title on the surface since her last triumph in Paris. She will now look to find her feet on grass quickly ahead of her Wimbledon title defence starting June 29.

"It wasn't a good day in the office," said Swiatek, whose form has been patchy throughout this season.

"Many things I could manage a