Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky qualified for her third successive French Open quarter-final with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over 2002 runner-up Venus Williams on Sunday.
The 30th seed will take on France’s Kristina Mladenovic, conqueror of defending champion Garbine Muguruza, for a place in the semi-finals.
Bacsinszky’s best Grand Slam performance came when she reached the last four at Roland Garros in 2015, losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. Her victory over Venus means a first-time major champion will be crowned next Saturday.
‘Anything can happen,’ says high-flying Ostapenko
Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur to set up a clash with former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
She has beaten Wozniacki, who also made the last eight in 2010, on all three occasions they have met. Two of those came on clay this year, in Charleston and Prague. “If I play my game, I’m an aggressive player and if I have my day, anything can happen,” said Ostapenko.