PARIS- - Defending champion Iga Swiatek needed only 31 minutes to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Monday as her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired after feeling unwell. World number one Swiatek was 4-1 up in the opening set when Tsurenko called on the trainer and had her blood pressure and pulse checked. Following a five-minute medical timeout, the match resumed but Tsurenko threw in the towel after losing the following game to love. "I'm sorry, playing Iga was my priority, I'm very sorry," Tsurenko told a press conference.
"I've had this virus for a couple of days and today it was tough for me to warm up and I hoped I would feel better during the match but unfortunately it got worse. My body could not take it. "I was fine at my last match although I started to have a sore throat and then yesterday I could practice for only 10 minutes. I had litres of water and healthy things, vitamins, a lot of fruits. I need another two, three days to recover." Swiatek next faces American sixth seed Coco Gauff in a repeat of last year's final, which the Pole won6-1 6-3and she will enter the contest having spent just over four hours on court.
Wearing a ribbon in the Ukrainian colours pinned to her cap while Tsurenko had one on her top, Swiatek raced to a 4-0 lead as the world number 66 started to show signs of weakness. She still managed to pull a break back but requested the trainer to come on court as she sat down on her bench at the change of ends. She was seen explaining her problems to the medical staff and after being given the green light to continue, it soon became evident that she was struggling to play her shots and ended the match prematurely. Swiatek has dropped only nine games en route to the quarter-finals as she chases a third Roland Garros title in four years. "Obviously it's not the way you want to win a match," Swiatek told a press conference. The 22-year-old, however, was satisfied with her campaign so far as she can now rely on experience to deal with the demands of a Grand Slam. "Before I was exhausted mentally and physically, every match cost me a lot but now I'm able to do better," she explained.
"In the first part of the tournament it's important to keep something for the next round." Swiatek is now well established as a top player and reaching the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam gives her little to celebrate, although that does also depend on the major. "If I could be in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon I would be over the moon," she said with a laugh.
SPAIN-- Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 53 points and continue Red Bull's sweep of the season with the team's seventh success in as many races. Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was second for Mercedes, but 24.09 seconds behind, with team mate George Russell completing the podium on a cloudy but dry afternoon at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Verstappen's closest rival in a season that looks sure to crown the dominant Dutch 25-year-old for a third time, finished fourth after fighting back from 11th at the start. The victory was Verstappen's fifth of the season, third in a row, third in Spain and the double world champion's 40th in Formula One. The man who took the first grand prix win of his career at the Spanish circuit in 2016 and also triumphed last year, secured the bonus point for fastest lap to cap a day of domination.
"It's a big pleasure to drive with a car like this. I think it showed again today," said Verstappen, who fended off Ferrari's home hero Carlos Sainz at the start in the only challenge of an otherwise straightforward afternoon. "I had the harder compound so I knew the start would be a bit tricky. Going around the outside at Turn One is always quite difficult but luckily nothing happened." Verstappen was also shown a black and white flag for exceeding track limits late in the race but the risk of a five second penalty was hardly going to trouble someone so far up the road from the rest. "Well done Max, that was mega. Very well controlled, even though you went over the white lines a few times," said team boss Christian Horner.
McLaren's Lando Norris, who started third on the grid, suffered a broken front wing on the first lap after contact with Hamilton and had to pit, plunging down the order and finishing 17th. Talking Point The form of the Mercedes drivers, with a re-designed car after a disappointing start to the season, provided a main talking point. Mercedes moved up to second in the championship on 152 points to runaway Red Bull's 287 and with Aston Martin dropping to third on 134. "Mega job guys, mega job," said Hamilton over the radio. "Thank you so much to everyone back at the factory, continuing to push. This is a real showing for all your hard work. Let's keep pushing." Russell went off into the gravel on his way to the grid, where he lined up 12th, but his car was undamaged and his pace strong. "It definitely feels better," he said of the car. "You are just putting in those lap times and comparing it to the guys around you -- the Ferraris and Astons -- and you are going quicker and quicker." Sainz was fifth, and said it was the best he could do, with the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso sixth and seventh. Alonso was 10th after his final stop but made a charge back up the order before settling in behind Stroll and assuring the Canadian he was no threat. "I damaged one floor yesterday already, I didn't want to damage another one today," said the Spaniard, who had finished five of the previous six races on the podium. "I didn't want that he damaged a floor either, by defending. For us it was the same, sixth and seventh, same points so bringing it home seemed the right choice.".
Alpine's Esteban Ocon was eighth, Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou ninth and Pierre Gasly, who qualified fourth before a six-place grid penalty, took the final point for Renault-owned Alpine. AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda collected a five second penalty for forcing Zhou off the track, dropping him from ninth out of the points. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who started from the pitlane after a nightmare in qualifying left him on the back row, finished 11th.
BUDAPEST-- Europa League thoroughbreds Sevilla worked their magic yet again to beat AS Roma 4-1 on penalties on Wednesday and lift the trophy for a record-extending seventh time, handing Roma boss Jose Mourinho his first defeat in six European finals.
PARIS-- Fourth seed Casper Ruud and holder Iga Swiatek stayed on course to reach consecutive finals at the French Open while a couple of unheralded names in the women's draw continued to show their immense potential on a sunny Thursday at Roland Garros.
FRANCE- - Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild said it was the happiest day of his life after beating world number two Daniil Medvedev at the French Open on Tuesday. The 23-year-old, making his debut at Roland Garros, won a gruelling contest 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4, sending the Russian second seed home in the first round of the Grand Slam. "It's definitely the happiest day of my life. But the tournament is not over, and I have worked very hard to be here, and I would like to stay as long as possible," he told a press conference.
"From the first day I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I knew how to play. I've seen him (Medvedev) play thousands of times. I just had to believe in myself and believe in the work I've been doing." Wild, who had not played a tour-level tournament nor a Grand Slam main draw since 2020, concentrated on the clay-court circuits earlier this year, claiming championships in Chile and Argentina. "The French Open is a very special tournament for me. I think with so many times I've played here I could get the experience I need to qualify this year and get past the first round, but I think it's momentum. You have to make that momentum last as long as possible," he added.
The Brazilian, who qualified in Paris by beating Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the final round, said his inspiration came from record 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. "He's a guy I've admired all my life. The way he plays, the spirit he puts on the court and the way he wants to win, you don't see that every day, you don't see that in anybody. He's Rafael Nadal," Wild said.
