PARIS — Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player on the WTA Tour, moved on to the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. So did fifth-seeded Iga Swiatek, the three-time reigning women’s singles champion at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
Each needs two more wins to make a Sabalenka-Swiatek semifinal showdown happen, and neither player has dropped a set as the first week of action at Roland-Garros nears its end.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam winner who has only once reached the semifinals in Paris, beat Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where the hot weather contrasted with previous days.
“The ball flies much faster. The bounces are much higher,” said Sabalenka, the 27-year-old from Belarus who has won the past three hard-court majors — the past two editions of the Australian Open and last year’s U.S. Open.
Swiatek, who has won four of her five major titles at Roland-Garros, defeated Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to extend her French Open winning streak to 23 matches. A second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, tested the 23-year-old from Poland, who yelled in relief after winning on her second match point. Swiatek had 20 winners and 21 unforced errors.