Iga Swiatek's 25th birthday turned bitter at the French Open as the Polish star was beaten by No. 15 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 7-5, 6-1 in the fourth round on Sunday. This marks Swiatek's third consecutive Grand Slam loss to Kostyuk.
Swiatek, chasing a fifth Roland Garros title, started strongly but could not maintain her level. After exchanging breaks, Kostyuk took the first set with a cross-court backhand winner, then raced to a 3-1 lead in the second and held on for the victory. Kostyuk admitted: "I'm still in shock. I felt I created space to challenge her. I play tennis because I love it, not to win."
The win puts Kostyuk into the quarterfinals to face either Elina Svitolina (Ukraine, No. 7 seed) or Belinda Bencic (Switzerland, No. 11 seed). The Ukrainian has now won 15 consecutive matches on clay this season.
Earlier in the tournament, men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, and reigning women's champion Coco Gauff were all eliminated over the past three days. Fans now turn their focus to Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and a heavy favorite for her first Paris title.
On the same day, Romania's veteran Sorana Cirstea, 36, beat Wang Xinyu of China 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach her first Roland Garros quarterfinal since 2009, 17 years ago. It is the third Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career. Cirstea, who plans to retire at the end of the season, said: "I always think there is no expiration date for ambition and dreams. Sometimes society puts us in age groups, but in life you can do whatever you want."
