French Open: Aryna Sabalenka thumps Emma Navarro, Jasmine Paolini into 1st quarters

Aryna Sabalenka stormed into the quarterfinal of the French Open 2024 women’s singles after beating USA’s Emma Navarro in straight sets.

On Monday (June 3), the Belarusian won the match 6-2, 6-2 at Philippe-Chatrier in an hour and 9 minutes. Navarro, who was playing in her maiden Grand Slam fourth round, could not pose much of a threat to the World No.2.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka converted 4 out of her 10 break point chances to get the better of her American opponent. Moreover, that she did not give Navarro a single chance to break her serve showed how dominant she was. Sabalenka is yet to drop a single set in the ongoing clay-court major.

In the quarters, Sabalenka will be up against the winner of the match between 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Russia’s Varvara Gracheva. Winning her 11th Grand Slam match in 2024 and staying unbeaten, Sabalenka is going through a purple patch.

Jasmine Paolini triumphs

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini had every reason to cheer after she advanced to her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 28-year-old player rallied back from a set down and defeated Russia’s Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 at Suzanne-Lenglen. Avanesyan had a memorable run at the Roland Garros as she knocked out seventh seed Zheng Qinwen in the third round.

Paolini dropped her serve 4 times and made 3 double faults, but made up for the blemishes with 8 breaks of serve. She made 45 unforced errors, but 29 winners, more than Avanesyan, helped her immensely.

Paolini has a stiff challenge ahead of her in the quarters as she is set to lock horns with fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who defeated Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in straight sets. After starting the year as the World No.30, Paolini is not far away from breaking into the top 10 of the WTA rankings.