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Kostyuk downs four-time winner Swiatek at Roland Garros

tennis31 May 2026 13:29| © AFP
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Iga Swiatek © Getty Images

Four-time former champion Iga Swiatek endured a miserable birthday as she was eliminated from the Roland Garros fourth round on Sunday by Marta Kostyuk.

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The Polish third seed went down 7-5, 6-1 to the 15th seed from Ukraine.

Kostyuk, the Madrid Open winner, moved into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time in her career.

"I'm still in shock to beat such an unbelievable player who won four times here and I lost four times to her before this, I never took a set off her," 23-year-old Kostyuk said.

Swiatek will now go another year without the title she first won in 2020 and then three times consecutively between 2022 and 2024.

With her fourth-round exit, it was the joint worst performance at Roland Garros for the 25-year-old, equal with the last-16 departure she suffered on her debut in Paris seven years ago.

The first set went on serve until the seventh game when Swiatek pounced on Kostyuk's service to move in front.

From there, the Pole's own delivery deserted her as the world number 15 hit back to level before the pair again exchanged another pair of breaks.

Kostyuk then dug in to hold and force the former world No 1 to try and serve to stay in the set.

Two Swiatek double faults gave Kostyuk the chance to claim the opener and she did with a low cross-court backhand that whizzed past her opponent at the net.

Swiatek swiftly departed the court at the interval in a bid to regroup.

She came back out firing as she immediately nosed ahead with a break to 15.

But Kostyuk was not to be denied as she sealed a three-game streak with a bruising forehand winner past a stranded Swiatek to lead 3-1.

A stunning rally concluded with a reflex volley at the net that Swiatek could not equal. In the next game a dominant Kostyuk held to love to move Swiatek to the brink.

The match was up for the six-time major winner as Kostyuk consistently pinned the Pole back with her powerful groundstrokes to win the final two games.

Kostyuk will face seventh-seeded compatriot Elina Svitolina for a spot in the semifinals.

 

 

SVITOLINA DOWNS BENCIC

Elina Svitolina fought back from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic and stamp her ticket to the quarterfinals.

The seventh-seeded Ukrainian saw off the Swiss 11th seed 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier to advance to the last eight for the sixth time at Roland Garros.

Bencic got ahead in the first frame with back-to-back breaks in the fifth and seventh games before holding off a resurgent Svitolina to claim the opener.

In the second set, the roles were reversed as Svitolina got a break ahead before almost being reeled back in by her opponent.

But after failing to serve out to force a decider, she got across the line at the next time of asking, pouncing on Bencic's delivery to 15.

The Italian Open winner never looked back then as she raced through the third set.

Svitolina will face compatriot Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the semifinals after the 15th seed upset four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek earlier on centre court.

RESURGENT CIRSTEA MARCHES ON 

Sorana Cirstea continued her renaissance this season by downing Chinese world number 148 Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) on Sunday to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

Cirstea, who will retire at the end of the season, is enjoying a golden last year on tour. She backed up a semifinal run at the Italian Open by equalling her previous best performance at Roland Garros and progressing to the last eight for the first time since 2009.

The 36-year-old will face either Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva or Switzerland's 170th-ranked Jil Teichmann in the next round.

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