World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is set to be in action on Friday, 31 May in the French Open. After surviving a horrible scare against Naomi Osaka in the second round of the competition, Swiatek is set to play Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova at the Phillippe Chartier court in Paris. Swiatek is not the only star who will be in action today as the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff take centre-court on Friday's Round 3 stage in the competition.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek had to play out of her skins to beat Naomi Osaka in the second round of the French Open 2024 women’s singles. On Wednesday, May 29, Swiatek beat the 4-time Grand Slam champion 7-6 (7-1), 1-6, 7-5 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It took the Pole just a little less than 3 hours to beat her Japanese opponent, who was in no mood to throw in the towel.
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will also be coming off a tricky battle, a four-set competition against Jesper de Jong, where he beat the Dutchman 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Alcaraz, touted as one of the rising stars in the tennis world, faced a tough test against De Jong on Wednesday. Despite starting strong with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 lead, Alcaraz encountered a momentary lapse in form during the third set, allowing De Jong to seize the opportunity and extend the match. With De Jong refusing to back down, the match unfolded under intense scrutiny, captivating spectators with its unpredictability.
Amidst a flurry of errors and a resilient opponent, Alcaraz managed to regain his composure in the crucial moments of the match, ultimately emerging victorious with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win after more than three hours of play. "Every player can cause you trouble," said Alcaraz. "You have to be focussed in every round, have to play at your best, it doesn't matter what the ranking is. Jesper has the work and level to break into the top 100."
Australian Open 2024 winner Jannik Sinner had made light work of Richard Gasquet in the previous round and will be facing Russia's Pavel Kotov in today's match. The Italian had won the second-round match against the home favourite 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday, May 29 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It took Sinner 2 hours and 14 minutes to ease past the Frenchman.
In court Suzanne Lenglen, two of the biggest men's tennis stars will be in focus. World No. 6 Andrey Rublev and No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas will be in action later in the day.
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (play begins at 3:30 PM IST)
3-Coco Gauff (U.S.) v 30-Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine)
Pavel Kotov (Russia) v 2-Jannik Sinner (Italy)
1-Iga Swiatek(Poland) v Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic)
27-Sebastian Korda (U.S.) v 3-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN
17-Liudmila Samsonova (Russia) v Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Italy)
6-Andrey Rublev (Russia) v Matteo Arnaldi (Italy)
31-Leylah Fernandez (Canada) v 8-Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
Zhizhen Zhang (China) v 9-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU
Olga Danilovic (Serbia) v Donna Vekic (Croatia)
Chloe Paquet (France) v 5-Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)
8-Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) v Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
Corentin Moutet (France) v Sebastian Ofner (Austria)
Source: India Today