Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina gives walkover in French Open due to fever, Ruud ends Zhang’s dream

PARIS – Fourth seed Elena Rybakina pulled out of the French Open ahead of her third-round meeting with Sara Sorribes Tormo on Saturday owing to a viral illness, as the tournament lost one of its main contenders for the women’s title.

The Wimbledon champion

said she had been unwell for the last two days and was out of breath during the warm-up before her match against the Spaniard.

“I wasn’t feeling good yesterday and the day before, so I didn’t sleep two nights and had some fever,” said the 23-year-old Kazakh, who has battled pollen allergies before.

“Today I really tried during the warm-up but I feel that the right decision is to withdraw because it’s really tough to play in this condition.

“I saw the doctor, and they said that actually it’s all a virus here in Paris. I guess with my allergy, my immune system just went down and I picked up something.”

Rybakina was among the favourites alongside holder Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, after winning the Rome title in the build-up to the clay-court Grand Slam.

Sorribes Tormo moves into the fourth round, where she will take on Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat 23rd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

Top seed Swiatek pulverised Wang Xinyu of China 6-0, 6-0 on Saturday with a flawless display to stay firmly on course to retain her title.

The Pole, who had also managed the double bagel feat in Rome last month, ended the match in 51 minutes.

She said: “I was disciplined and took care of everything... You always have to be kind of disciplined. I am going to use that skill later when I have tight matches.”

Also on Saturday, Coco Gauff ended the 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva’s magical Roland Garros debut to reach the last 16.

World No. 6 Gauff, the runner-up to Swiatek in 2022, won 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1 against her 143rd-ranked opponent, who came through qualifying and was the youngest player to make the third round since 2005.

The 19-year-old said: “I was a little undisciplined in the tiebreak but I knew what the game plan was so I just tried to execute that in the second and third sets.

“But Mirra proved she belongs where she is and deserves to go further.”

In the men’s draw, world No. 4 Casper Ruud reached the last 16 on Saturday with a four-set win over China’s Zhang Zhizhen. The Norwegian, runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022, dropped the first set before easing through 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 against the world No. 71.

Zhang, 26, was bidding to become the first Chinese man since 1936 to reach the fourth round in Paris.

“It was very tough in the first set, he was hitting many winners and I couldn’t find a hole in his game.

“At 5-4 in the second set, he played some sloppy shots and that gave me the set, maybe the match,” said Ruud, who hit 36 winners and saved seven of 10 break points.

Ruud will face Nicolas Jarry of Chile, who beat American Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, for a place in the quarter-finals.

On Friday, Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round for a 14th successive year with a bruising 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

He admitted his push towards a record-setting 23rd Grand Slam title is at the mercy of a “long list” of injuries, with “pills and angels” among the cures.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz kept on course for his second Slam, storming past Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to set up a fourth-round match against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

“I am a complete player,” he answered when asked his strongest point as a player. “I would say the stronger thing that I have on court is push to the limit. I push the opponent to the limit every time.”

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal’s keyhole surgery on his injured hip was “positive” but he will require a five-month recovery period before playing again, his spokesman said on Saturday.

The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, who also celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday, could be back for the Davis Cup finals in November.

However, it is likely he will sit out the rest of the season before resuming in 2024, which he has already said will be the last year of his career. Reuters, AFP