Medvedev knocked out of French Open; Swiatek survives scare

Sports Desk, May 30 (EFE).- Marin Cilic defeated world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 Monday night to advance to the French Open quarterfinals, while top-ranked Iga Swiatek dropped a set against Qinwen Zheng before recovering to win her 32nd straight match.

The 33-year-old Croatian needed just an hour and 45 minutes to dispatch the Russian and reach the final eight at a major tournament for the first time since 2018, when he made it to the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slams.

A month after undergoing surgery for a herniated disc, Medvedev, 26, was overwhelmed by the 23rd-ranked Cilic, who said afterward that it was “one of the best matches of my career from start to finish.”

To qualify for his first semifinal at Roland Garros, Cilic must defeat Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who advance earlier Monday after Italy’s Jannik Sinner retired in the third set of their contest.

Medvedev was the second favorite to be eliminated Monday, joining Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who fell 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to 19-year-old Holger Rune of Denmark.

On the women’s side, Poland’s Swiatek was surprised 6-7 (5) in the first set by Qinwen Zheng, ranked 74th in the world.

But the Chinese teenager had to take a medical timeout and the 20-year-old world No. 1 won the next two sets 6-0, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal confrontation with Jessica Pegula of the United States.

EFE

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