PARIS — Elina Svitolina saved three match points and came back to eliminate 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1 on Sunday, earning her fifth French Open quarterfinal appearance.
The 13th-seeded Svitolina, who is from Ukraine, is a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist — getting that far twice at Wimbledon and once at the US Open — but is 0-4 so far in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros.
“Last few months have been really, really tough for the Ukrainian people, and last few weeks have been awful, as well,” Svitolina said. “It’s something that all Ukrainians live on a daily basis with — with the bad news. So when I’m on the court, I’m fully focused on my job, on my tennis, and try to get these wins, try to keep Ukrainian flag flying for my country.
“That’s what motivates me to keep pushing, to keep winning, to keep playing tennis, in general.”
She will try to go a step further Tuesday, when she will face three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek, who trailed by a set and a break before defeating 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 at Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The other quarterfinal on the top half of the women’s bracket will be No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against No. 8 Zheng Qinwen. Sabalenka, a three-time major champ, used a five-game run to take control from 5-all in the first set and beat No. 16 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. 7-5, 6-3, while 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng was a 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3 winner over No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova.
The No. 4-seeded Paolini entered Sunday on a career-best nine-match winning streak, including a run to the title on red clay at the Italian Open.
A year ago, she reached her first major final at the French Open, losing to Swiatek, then also made it to the championship match at Wimbledon, where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova.
Against Svitolina, Paolini served for the victory while leading by a set and a break at 5-3 in the second. But the Italian got broken at 15 there. She then held her first two match points while ahead 5-4, 15-40 as Svitolina served.
Paolini missed a forehand on the initial chance to end things and a backhand on the next.
In the ensuing tiebreaker, Paolini again was a single point from winning — and again failed to come through, this time when Svitolina ended a 14-stroke exchange with a volley winner.
From there, Svitolina was in control, racing to a 4-0 lead in the third set. She is quite comfortable on clay, where she has earned a tour-leading 16 of her 27 wins this season.
Svitolina also defeated Paolini at the Australian Open in January.
Swiatek looked out of sorts as she trailed 6-1, 2-0, leaving the crowd stunned, but she found her groove and some grit to prevail.
“In the first set, with her playing like that, I felt I did not have a single chance,” said Swiatek, who had lost to Rybakina in their two previous encounters on clay. “Using the topspin was the plan from the beginning, but I did not feel she gave me the space to do that. But I’m happy that I was patient enough to stay in the game and use any opportunity that came to me.”
The win continued Swiatek’s quest for four straight French Open titles. The only women to win the singles at Roland Garros in four straight years were Jeanne Matthey from 1909 to 1912 and Suzanne Lenglen from 1920 to 1923, when only French players competed.
The 24-year-old Swiatek, who failed to win a title on clay in the buildup to Roland Garros and served a short doping ban last season, celebrated Sunday’s win.
“It means a lot. I needed this kind of win to feel these feelings that I’m able to win under pressure and, even if it’s not going the right way, still turn the match around to win,” Swiatek told reporters. “It’s a great confirmation for me. Obviously it’s great to also have full control over the match, but against great players, it’s not always going to be possible. I’m happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court.”
Sabalenka is now the first player to reach the quarterfinals in 10 consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams from 2014 to 2017. Sabalenka has more straight-sets wins this year (33) than any other player has tour wins.
“I am super hungry for this tournament. I want to stay until the very last day,” she said.
Four U.S. women will be in action in the fourth round Monday: No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. Lois Boisson of France, and No. 7 Madison Keys vs. Hailey Baptiste in an all-American matchup.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
