Rising teen star Mirra Andreeva sailed into the French Open fourth round with an impressive straight-sets demolition of Yulia Putintseva on Saturday.
The Russian sixth seed brushed aside Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-1 on Court Suzanne Lenglen sealing victory in 78 minutes on her first match point.
Andreeva is enjoying a sparkling campaign having secured a historic title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February, before beating world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Indian Wells less than a month later.
And the 18-year-old, who reached the semi-finals at last year's tournament at Roland Garros where she lost to Jasmine Paolini, has yet to drop a set in three matches in the French capital.
Andreeva is hoping to become the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam title since her compatriot Maria Sharapova's 2004 Wimbledon triumph.
Her path to the final has been made slightly less perilous by the fact both Sabalenka and reigning champion Iga Swiatek are in the other half of the draw.
“I knew Yulia is a very tricky player, she has an interesting game and it's uncomfortable for me,” said Andreeva, who won nine of the last 10 games on her way to victory. “She likes to cut the rhythm a lot, I knew it would be tough.
“I kind of knew what to expect I knew I had to play at 100 per cent and fight for every ball and get those drop shots. I'm happy with the way I play today.”
Standing in the way of Andreeva and a quarter-final spot will be her good friend Daria Kasatkina of Australia who knocked out 10th seed Paula Badosa 6-1, 7-5 in their third round match which lasted one hour 33 minutes.
The 17th seed held off a late charge from the Spaniard before sealing her first top-10 win in 11 months.
American third seed Jessica Pegula was made to battle for her fourth-round place before eventually beating former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in three sets.
Pegula, who has never been beyond the quarter-finals in Paris, fought back from a set down before going through 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 against the unseeded Czech.
“Obviously had some chances in the first, but sometimes you can’t quite get the break,” said Pegula, who will now face the French wildcard Lois Boisson.
“You’re so close, so close … I think when I finally broke her I kind of freed up a little bit. I thought I was playing her the right way the first set, I just needed to be a tad more aggressive.
“And then there were times in the third where maybe I was a little too aggressive, coming in on awkward shots. Playing her, that’s why’s it’s so hard – it’s like a really fine line, especially on clay.”
In the men's draw, world No 1 Jannik Sinner was in ruthless form as he destroyed Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2.
The 23-year-old Italian came flying out of the blocks by winning the opening 11 games without reply with Lehecka drawing loud cheers when he finally got on the board.
Sinner, who returned to tennis in May after a three-month-doping ban, has yet to drop a set in his second tournament back, after reaching the final in Rome earlier in the month.
The top seed has now stretched his winning streak at Grand Slam events to 17 matches, after winning the titles at the 2024 US Open and the Australian Open in January before his doping ban.
He will now face 17th-seed Andrey Rublev, who advanced after his opponent Arthur Fils of France withdrew with a back injury.
“This morning I said to my team I’m feeling well and physically ready,” said Sinner. “We had to go hard in the beginning because the beginning in Grand Slams is very important for confidence. I warmed up well, I felt very good so after 20-25 minutes I was feeling brave.”
“It was a relaxed morning. My team give me the right tactics, I tried to play them in the match so it’s a combination of also being happy on court – it’s very important.”
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Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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