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From 0-40 down, Bencic holds for 6-4 2-4, back in the match after a mental break. Can she hit enough good balls into court to put Svitolina’s serve under pressure?
Carreno Busta makes 5-4 40-15, has two points to win a set he looked likely to be whacked out of … and only needs one, Jodar hooking a forehand wide. Tat’s four games on the spin and this is now a really good test of the youngster’s bona fides: so far, he’s shown terrific ticket and temperament, but maintaining that as second-favourite to win an open slam is a different thing.
Svitolina holds for 4-6 4-1, then Carreno Busta finishes another long struggle of a game with a winner; at 5-4, he’ll shortly serve for set one.
Carreno Busta has done really well to stay in this set – he might’ve gone down a double-break but now he’s got a break point at 4-4 … but tamely slices a backhand return well wide down the line. It’s also worth noting that Jodar’s first serve wasn’t up to much, but a glorious backhand winner down line – that’s more like it – means the veteran has another shy at it. Jodar, though, devastates a backhand of his own to set up the forehand winner, while Bencic, who almost broke Svitolina for 6-4 2-1, is now 15-40 down, lays a drop … into the net. She leads 6-4 1-3, and I don’t like her under pressure, at all.
After a protracted struggle, Carreno Busta retrieves the break taken from him by Jodar to trail 3-4 in the first; on Chatrier, a hold apiece means Bencic leads Svitolina 6-4 1-1.
Back to Swiatek, then, she was desperately poor in the second set today – her confidence, once impregnable, is now brittle, and I’m not sure she’ll ever get it back. Which isn’t me saying she’s done as factor at the top end of the game, not at all, just that the other players are no longer intimidated by her because they’ve seen weakness, and they’re not about to forget it. She can still win, of course, but she’ll have to play well, and can expect her second serve and forehand, in particular, to face attack in pretty much every match.
Only to waft a forehand long. Bencic does not love pressure, I’m afraid, but a sensational inside-out backhand lands right in the corner, seizing her another opportunity to clean up the set, and this time, a big serve out wide allows her to usher a backhand down the line. She leads 6-4.
A drop from Bencic … and it’s a delight, landing just over the net, and Svitolina can’t flick it back over so, at 5-4 advantage, she has set point.
Two forehand errors donate Svitolina 0-30, but an ace out wide makes 30-all … then a netted backhand means break point. It won’t be easy to recover if she can’t save herself, and does Svito’s volley-lob fall in? Not quite, so to deuce we mooch while, on Lenglen, Jodar had to do plenty to stave off a break-back attempt from Carreno Busta – his mental game is solid as you like – and he leads 4-1 in the first.
Better from Svitolina, who breaks to love – Bencic isn’t the most even of opponents, so I’m not surprised she tightened trying to secure the set. She does, though, play a terrific point to make 5-3 30-all … but excellent hitting from Svito secures the hold and forces Bencic to serve for the set a second time at 5-4. Pressure.
Jodar breaks Carreno Busta for 2-0, then Svitolina swats a backhand wide when break point down, and Bencic is in total command of this set at 5-3.
Jodar, now second-favourite for the men’s competition – amazing, given this is his first major – holds in game one against Carreno Busta, a wily veteran who’s made two quarters here and two semis in New York. He’s beaten Lehecka, Kokkinakis and Tirasnte to get to this stage, and though I can’t say I like his chances today, he knows his way around a clay court, so.
Chrissy was saying earlier that Svitolina has changed as a player since getting together with Gaël Monfils, her husband – she’s more attacking and aggressive now, and also has more power. She reckons the two practising together has had an impact, and I also wonder if his mindset has been as much an influence as his strategy – he played with joy and risk, now so does she. But can she finally make a the last four here, after losing five quarter-finals? And can she major final after losing four semis? Well she’s just been broken, so Bencic, who has a slightly looser, more natural style, leads 3-2.
We’re under way on Chatrier, Svitolina holding for 2-1 against Bencic.
Next on Lenglen: Rafael Jodar (27) v Pablo Carreño Busta.
Cirstea shares a long, deep hug with Marion Bartoli, then says it was a great match and she played really well, but at this level if you drop 1% intensity, it’s a problem and Wang started to play amazing, so she’s happy to close in two as it was getting hard.
“I have the pleasure to know you,” Marion says and there’s clearly a lovely friendship there. “Seventeen years ago, back in 2o09, you were there, at Roland Garros playing the quarter-final. Seventeen years later, it shows your resilience, your courage, your passions for this sport. You’re back there to the quarter-final of Roland Garros, I have chills just saying it, can you tell us what’s going through your body, your mind, your family watching it today.”
“There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,” comes back the inspirational response, and she goes on to discuss how much she loves the game and playing in front of her family and team. “I think sometimes society puts us in certain goups because of the age- she’s 36t– but I think in life you are free to do whatever you want and I want to play and here I am.”
Oh my goodness there’s more, and this is really a lot, in the best possible way,
“Sorana, I had the pleasure to coach you for a little bit, i always knew you had that tennis in your bag, but when you’re on the court right now what strikes me the most is your smile, your enjoyment for what you’re doing and your incredible confidence level,” Marion continues, before asking what her feeling is before the later stages.
Cirstea says she’s trying to enjoy herself – she learnt a lot from Marion, a a lot of tennis IQ. She very complete player, able to attack and defend, tennis ois her passion and she’s very grateful.
That, mates, was awesome.
Sorana Cirstea (18) beats Wang Xiyu 6-3 7-6(4)
Seventeen years after her first, Cirstea makes her second quarter-final at this competition. There, she’ll meet Mirra Andreeva or Jil Teichmann.
Right, on Lenglen, Cirstea leads Wang 5-4 in the tiebreak, just about winning a net exchange to raise two match points.
I totally missed this at the time, but Kostyuk danced after winning the first set, not the first time she’s busted moves on court, but in these circumstances? She’s feeling herself.
Next on Chatrier: Elina Svitolina (7) v Belinda Bencic (11). Ouiiiiiiii!
To add some flesh to the weight of that interview, check out this from round one. Marta is on a mission.
“I’m still in shock,” says Kostyuk, saying Swiatek has won four times here and she’d lost to her four times, without winning a set.
She feels like she’s giving herself more space to create something and challenge her opponent but the main thing is trying to enjoy herself. “I woke up today in the morning and all I thought about is what an unbelievable day I have to live today” – what a beautiful sentiment that is, beautifully expressed, too – “play on Chatrier, play against Iga, there is nothing else I could do today than this.”
She hopes to stay in this frame of mind, enjoying and not focusing on winning and losing. “I’m not playing tennis to win, I’m playing because I love it, I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy coming to the court, make people happy and unite people.”
Oh man, what a lovely interview. I said after round one that this blog has a new favourite to join Oor Maddy and Karoline Muchova, and that is why, emotionally intelligent expansiveness can’t be beaten.
Before we do her interview, let’s check in on our other match, which Cirstea has now failed to serve out twice; she still leads, 6-3 5-6, but Wang, having won four games in a row, has the momentum.
If Kostyuk’s confident, she’s very hard to beat, an all-round monster who’s finally grown into her prodigious talent, and she’s every bit as delighted as you’d hope.
Marta Kostyuk (15) beats Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1
An amazing win for Kostyuk, the biggest of her career; next for her, Svitolina or Bencic, and she’s a serious threat to win this.
On the one hand, Kostyuk hasn’t lost on clay this year, 14 matches unbeaten but, on the other, in looking to expand her game, Swiatek has lost consistency and conviction. Very quickly. she’s down 40-0….
Amazing disrespect from Kostyuk, standing way inside court to slam back a second serve via inside-out backhand; “She’s lost the plot, she’s lost her game – the essence of what makes her great on clay,” says Chrissy as 15-30 becomes 15-40. If one of them is converted, it might well mean curtains, but Swiatek saves the first then trots in to sort the second … only to overhit her forehand, and by a bit! “She’s not hitting the ball with feel,” Chrissy advises. “She’s slapping,” and at 7-5 5-1, Kostyuk will now serve for the match.
Cirstea can’t serve the match out, broken by Wang, who then holds; at 6-3 5-4, she’ll shortly go again. Meantime, Kostyuk wins a net rat-a-tat-tat for 30-0 – her hands are the quicker – closes out her consolidation, and if she doesn’t get nervous – a gigantic if, admittedly – a last-eight spot is hers for the taking. She leads 7-5 4-1.
A booming return then a netted forehand and Kostyuk has 0-30, then Swiatek goes long and, facing three break points, this could be the beginning of the end. She just isn’t quite as good now as she was two years ago, but it’s also the case that the competition has got a lot, lot better, a pretty forehand down the line securing the break to love. Kostyuk leads 7-5 3-1, and she knows this is her moment, growing as her more august opponent flaps.
Back on Lenglen, Cirstea now leads 6-3 5-2 and will presently serve for the match.
At 30-all Kostyuk hammers down a big first serve … and Swiatek thwacks it back with interest, unloading on the forehand when a decent get demands she play another shot. Break point, though, is quickly extinguished with a service winner … but Kostyuk’s relative weakness at net, er … costyuks her, hitting the net on the stretch. Again, though, Swiatek can’t convert, a forehand falling wide as again, Chrissy chastises her for attacking lines unnecessarily, but she’s purring when two big backhands restore deuce; a double follows, offering a third break point … and again, an unforced error ruins it. This is brutally tense stuff, high quality punctuated with nervous snatches, underlined when Kostyuk makes advantage then slams down an ace.
Poor footwork from Swiatek means she’s lunging for a backhand, she can’t keep it in court, and Kostyuk has the break back, again. She leads 7-5 1-1 while, on Lenglen, Cirstea leads 6-3 3-2 with a break.
Kostyuk, of course, won Madrid recently, and this is what happens if she takes a tournament:
Back on court, a backhand winner takes her to advantage, but Swiatek plays a decent point to restore deuce … then sends down an entirely unsurprising double.
Swiatek left court between sets and gets right back to it on her return, making 15-40 then attacking a tepid second serve, her backhand too good. Kostyuk leads 7-5 0-1, and this is exceedingly enjoyable fare.
Wang survives various break points, but eventually secures her hold to trail Cirstea 3-2 2-1.
Twenty-five errors and six winners for Swiatek; Chrissy says her thing when she started was consistency but, as the game changed, she had to open up and it’s not quite her natural game, so she should widen the targets and not go for lines and corners. She needs to do something, because Kostyuk is winning the tactical battle, imposing the match she wants to play.
A overhit forehand from Swiatek donates 0-15, a double 0-30, and I wonder if this is what happens when you want something as badly as Swiatek does – of course all the players are into it, but there’s an obsessive intensity about her that stands out even among the intense obsessives that necessarily populate her sport. Anyroad up, Kostyuk goes for two big shots and misses both, taking us to 30-all, but a second double in the game means set point and we know how the Ukrainian is going to approach this … and when Swiatek doesn’t do enough with her approach, a backhand cross-court pass leaves her stranded. Kostyuk wins the first set 7-5, and the birthday girl is in trouble!
At 40-15, Kostyuk sends down a double, then redirects a forehand … wide. A game that looked almost hers is now in the balance but she dominates the advantage point, a drive-volley forcing Swiatek to desperately try a lob, the overhead botched into the tape … but somehow it clambers over! Swiatek, though, attacks the next rally and restores deuce … but Kostyuk stands strong, quickly securing her hold, the first in four games, for 6-5. Pressure on the Pole.
She makes hard work of it, but Cirstea serves out the first set against Wang at the second time of asking; she leads 6-3.
Terrific return from Kostyuk, a backhand hooked on to the sideline for a winner … ruined by a forehand looped long; 15-all. A double follows, the misses by far enough to intimate nerves and reinforced by a wild forehand that donates two break-back points. And Kostyuk only needs one, a decent return forcing Swiatek to net, and she looks encouraged – rightly so, that felt like a tightening. It’s 5-5 in the first, and this might just mature into an epic.
“Every point is good, every point is high quality,” kvells Chrissy in commentary as murderous shots are traded from the back, Kostyuk overhitting to cede 15-40. But from there, she recovers to deuce, competing like an equal; for maybe the first time, she believes she can do this, a service winner raising advantage, but then she’s fractionally late on a backhand down the line and it’s just a little wide, Swiatek – whose return was good – nowhere near it. And from there, the birthday girl dominates the next point with forehands, making advantage, then elicits the error for the third break in row. At 5-4, she’ll now serve for the first set – just as Cirstea is at 5-3 in our other match, a netted volley ceding deuce.
That last game was a lesson for Kostyuk: lose focus, lose the match. And it’s one she seems to have learnt quickly, a forehand from Swiatek falling long for 0-40, and the pressure tells immediately, another forehand shanked wide, and we’re back level at 4-4. Meantime, Wong takes one break back off Cirstea for 2-5 in the first, and looks to be settling.
Back with Swiatek, from 30-0 she makes 30-40, visibly upping the pace from the back, and as a tremendous rally unfolds, the players sending each other nashing about the court, she takes control of it, a forehand winner securing the break. She leads 4-3 while, on Lenglen, Cirstea is serving for the first set at 5-1.
I enjoyed this from yesterday. Moïse Kouamé is a superstar with a temperament to match.
Today I lost. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be winning, and I’m happy because I played well. I made interesting things during the week, so it’s not a loss that poses me a problem. It’s a loss which I’m certain is going to help me grow in the future.”
“I have learned an awful lot about myself, and this loss, perhaps, has given me more than the two wins. To answer your question, I’m not a bad loser. I’m a loser who learns from his mistakes and always tries to bounce back.”
Also going on:
I can’t lie, I leant my local turf accountant a small sum in lieu of Kostyuk winning this competition, and she holds easily for 3-2; if she keeps serving well, this match will come down to a few points here and there. Swiatek, 25 today, has focus and craft on her and, as I type, she marches in to attack a second serve and spanks it long; 40-15. From there, Swiatek holds to 30, and we’re level at 3-3 in the first.
On Lenglen, meanwhile, Cirstea leads 4-1, and she’ll be sensing a moment – her opponent has a heavily taped shoulder, making this a chance to match her best major performance, the quarters of this competition in 2009 and the US Open in 2023.
On Chatrier, Swiatek is serving at 1-2 deuce, Kostyuk having started fairly well – the message is that this is going to be a contest, and thoug, from there, the hold is secured, Kostyuk underlines the point: she’s taking this on.
Preamble
Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – huitième jour!
Well this has escalated quickly. A jazzer of a première semaine exploded at its back end, and we begin the journey home without a clue what’s going to happen when we get there.
We begin today with what could easily develop into one of the matches of the tournament – and the bar is already stratospherically high. Iga Swiatek, the four-time champ, faces the surging Marta Kostyuk, whose blend of power and touch can, on a good day, be too much for anyone.
They’re under way now, so too Wang Xiyu and Sorana Citstea, neither of whom were expected to still be with us. Following them, we’ve Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic, two attacking demons seeking to move from contender to potential winner, while Mirra Andreeva, bursting with talent and desire but perhaps lacking a definitive weapon, meets Jil Teichmann, in the form of her life.
Then, rounding out the day sesh, Jakub Mensik, so impressive against Alex de Minaur, meets the lovable and maturing Andrey Rublev, while Jesper de Jong seeks to break Alexander Zverev’s heart, the German served the opportunity of a lifetime with Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner all gone. He and pressure are not friends; can he cope?
