| Advertisement |
May 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas were upset in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday, as Iga Swiatek and American Jessica Pegula advanced to quarterfinals of the women's draw. Marin Cilic, the No. 20 seed in the men's singles draw, beat Medvedev of Russia in straight sets.
Advertisement
"It was an absolutely fantastic match from the first point until the last," Cilic said in his on-court interview. "I enjoyed the atmosphere. I enjoyed the night session. I played incredible tennis, one of the best matches of my career from start to finish."
The 2014 U.S. Open champion converted 5 of 7 break points and fired four aces and 33 winners in the win over the second-seeded Medvedev 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 45 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Next, Cilic will face another Russian -- No. 7 Andrey Rublev -- in the quarterfinals. Rublev advanced Monday when No. 11 Jannik Sinner of Italy retired in the third set of their fourth-round match.
Medvedev has been hot on the men's tour over the past year. He upset world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the U.S. Open crown last September and was the runner-up at the Australian Open in February.
Also on the men's side Monday, Denmark's Holger Rune upset the fourth-seeded Tsitsipas of Greece in four sets. Rune fired four aces and 54 winners and converted 5 of 11 break points in the three-hour, one-minute match.
Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in the men's final a year ago in Paris, totaled eight aces and 41 winners in his match Monday. He converted 3 of 8 break points and went on to lose in four sets, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Next, Rune will meet No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway in the quarterfinals. The winner will battle Rublev or Cilic in the men's semifinals.
Top-seeded Djokovic will face No. 5 Rafael Nadal of Spain in one of two men's quarterfinal matches Tuesday -- and No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany faces No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the other. The winners will advance to the semifinal round.
On the women's side, Swiatek the No. 1 seed, beat Zheng Qinwen of China 6-5, 6-0, 6-2 Monday at Court Philippe-Chatrier. The Polish star converted 7 of 14 break points and fired 32 winners in the two-hour, 45-minute match. She extended her unbeaten streak to 32 consecutive matches.
"I felt like I was a little bit in trouble, then I was able to come back and really refocus and find other solutions," Swiatek told reporters. "I didn't have a chance to do that in previous matches because I was leading in the first round and then I finished them right."
Next, Swiatek will meet Pegula in the women's quarterfinals after the 11-seeded American beat Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu in three sets in her fourth-round match. The winner will face No. 20 Daria Kasatkina or No. 29 Veronika Kudermetova, both of Russia, in the semifinals.
Kudermetova beat American Madison Keys in three sets in the fourth round and Kasatkina beat No. 28 Camila Giorgi of Italy in straight sets.
Early Tuesday, Italian Martina Trevisan beat No. 17 Leylah Fernandez in three sets to advance to the women's singles semifinals and will face one of two Americans -- No. 18 Cori "Coco" Gauff or Sloane Stephens -- for a spot in the final.
Quarterfinal coverage will continue through 6 p.m. EDT Tuesday and Wednesday on NBC's Tennis Channel. The women's semifinals will air from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday on Tennis Channel and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday on NBC.
The men's semifinals will air from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday on Tennis Channel and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday on NBC. The women's singles final will air at 9 a.m. Saturday on NBC. The men's singles final will air at 9 a.m. Sunday on NBC.
