Swiatek stutters at French Open but wins again while 'magnificent' Medvedev sails through

There were finally some signs of glitches in the Iga Swiatek win-machine on Saturday – but that did not stop the world No 1 from booking her place in the French Open fourth round.

Swiatek dropped serve three times against 95th-ranked Danka Kovinic of Montenegro before sealing a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Roland Garros – the Pole's 31st successive win.

The 2020 Paris champion is on the longest unbeaten run in the women's tour since Serena Williams bagged 34 victories in succession in 2013.

Swiatek, who is unbeaten since last February, has also won 46 of her last 47 sets after claiming titles on the claycourts of Stuttgart and Rome.

After coasting to quickfire wins against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko and Alison Riske of the United States, the match against Kovinic proved a bit more problematic.

"I wanted to play aggressively but maybe putting too much power and her balls were so powerful so it was tough to handle at full speed. I had to take fewer risks but she did a great job defending," said Swiatek.

"She was serving with precision so it was tricky to see where she was going to serve but I have played heavy hitters before, although it was a bit hard to adjust at the beginning."

The 20-year-old will now face Zheng Qinwen next after her opponent - Alize Cornet of France - was tearfully forced to retire through injury with the Chinese teenager 6-3, 3-0 ahead.

3️⃣1️⃣ in a rowAll the highlights from another big W for @iga_swiatek#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/T0pi8oLJFu

Swiatek is now the only top-10 seed left in the tournament after Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa of Spain both lost.

Seventh seed Sabalenka collapsed to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 defeat against Italy's Camila Giorgi, while third seed Badosa dropped out of her match