Serena Williams set up a mouth-watering French Open showdown against bitter rival Maria Sharapova on Saturday as Rafael Nadal kept his bid for an 11th title on track with a 16th successive win over childhood pal Richard Gasquet.
Three-time champion Williams made a mockery of her 451 world ranking to reach the last-16 with a ruthless 6-3, 6-4 romp past German 11th seed Julia Goerges. Sharapova, the 2012 and 2014 winner in Paris, was equally impressive, seeing off Czech sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1.
Sharapova and Williams have met 21 times, with the American leading the head-to-head record 19-2 after 18 consecutive wins. The Russian has not beaten her nemesis since 2004 – before even the birth of Twitter and YouTube. The American ensured Monday’s match could be a heated affair after dismissing Saturday large parts of Sharapova’s recent memoir ‘Unstoppable’ as “hearsay”.
Williams was angry over Sharapova’s claims that she sobbed after losing the 2004 Wimbledon final to the then teenage Russian. “I think the book was 100 percent hearsay, at least all the stuff I read and the quotes that I read, which was a little bit disappointing,” she said.
“I didn’t expect to be reading a book about me, that wasn’t necessarily true.”
Williams, the champion in 2002, 2013 and 2015 and playing her first Slam since giving birth to her daughter in September, last played a major at the Australian Open in 2017 while two months pregnant.
Playing again in her striking all-black catsuit, the 36-year-old fired 20 winners past Goerges while committing just 12 unforced errors, three of which were in the first set. “I think there is a lot of things in her game that she’s done much better than I have... Numbers don’t lie,” admitted Sharapova of facing her fellow former world number one.
Their most recent clash was at the 2016 Australian Open – it was also to be Sharapova’s last match before serving a 15-month doping ban. Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova hadn’t played on Court Philippe Chatrier since a quarter-final exit in 2015.
However, she made up for lost time by firing 18 winners past an under-cooked Pliskova in just under an hour. Meanwhile, Nadal, who turns 32 on Sunday, continued his bid for an 11th French Open title and 17th major by brushing aside Gasquet to claim a 16th consecutive win over his childhood friend.
The world no 1’s record at Roland Garros now stands at 82 wins and just two losses. The 16-time Grand Slam champion eased to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory on Chatrier to reach his 40th last-16 at a Slam.
He also took his run of consecutive completed sets at the French Open to 34, just seven shy of the record held by Bjorn Borg between 1979 and 1981. Nadal, who lost only two points in the first five games, will next play Germany’s world no 70 Maximilian Marterer.
Women’s top seed Simona Halep, twice a runner-up, was shunted out to Court 18 for her third round clash against experienced Andrea Petkovic. But she prevailed 7-5, 6-0 against the German who was hobbled by a right knee injury.
Third seed Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 champion, reached the last 16 for the fifth successive year with a comfortable 6-0, 6-2 win over Australia’s Sam Stosur. The Spaniard goes on to face Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine who knocked out Slovakian 19th seed Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-4.
Estonian 25th seed Anett Kontaveit made the last 16 for the first time by downing Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova who saw her 13-match win streak end in a horror show of 57 unforced errors.
Kontaveit next faces US Open champion Sloane Stephens, the American 10th seed, who saw off Italy’s Camila Giorgi 4-6, 6-1, 8-6. Argentinian fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro reached the fourth round for the first time in six years by seeing off Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 to set up a last-16 tie with American John Isner.
Italy’s Fabio Fognini made the last 16 for the second time with a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Britain’s last man standing Kyle Edmund. Fognini joins compatriot Marco Cecchinato in the fourth round, the first time that more than one Italian has made the last 16 since 1976.
He next faces third seed Marin Cilic who reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the 20th with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Steve Johnson of the United States. Belgian eighth seed David Goffin saved four match points to beat 2008 semi-finalist Gael Monfils of France 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
From the sidelines
World heavyweight boxing great Mike Tyson watches Serena Williams beat Julia Goerges to set up a 22nd meeting with Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova’s ‘admiration’ for Nadal
Maria Sharapova expressed her admiration for Rafael Nadal, after hitting with him in practice in Rome last month. “I think it’s pretty remarkable what he’s done in his career,” she said. “I think when you get to a certain point, you know, those numbers, I mean, there are a lot of people that can be considered greatest of all time, right?”
“I have a lot of admiration for him. I have always loved the spirit that he carries on with, you know, the focus.”
Fabulous Fabio adds to Italian joy
Fabio Fognini ended British interest in the tournament by beating Kyle Edmund in five sets to reach the second week of the tournament for the first time since a run to the quarter-finals in 2011.
He joins compatriot Marco Cecchinato in the fourth round, making it two Italian men in the last 16 at Roland Garros for the first time since 1976.
Friends reunited
Karen Khachanov inflicted more French woes by completing a rain-interrupted win over Lucas Pouille on Philippe Chatrier. The 22-year-old will next face a familiar foe in German second seed Alexander Zverev.
“I think we know each other since we were 14,” said the Russian. “Also we are good outside the court, with his parents, they know me also and I know them well. He’s a nice guy and, yeah, that’s what I can say.”
Quotable quotes
“Yeah, of course, it was a good practice for me. I won the tournament there.” – Nadal on his practice session in Rome with Sharapova
“I not explain to you. I’m going to lose 30 minutes. Sorry. It’s tough question.” – Fognini after being asked to talk about his personality
“Macadamia nut brittle... and do you know they only make that in Europe? They don’t have that in the United States.” – Stephens chats about Parisian ice-cream after making round four.
“Who doesn’t know me?” – Khachanov after a reporter asks him to describe his playing style for people who don’t know him.
“I’m not Maria Sharapova, people don’t come up to me on the street or anything. Maybe I’ve been a little under the radar.” – Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit is making her progress at the French Open relatively unnoticed.
Numbers up
18 – consecutive wins for Williams over Sharapova since her last loss to the Russian in 2004.
57 – unforced errors made by two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in her loss to Kontaveit. The Czech eighth seed also served 10 double faults.
2 – points won by Richard Gasquet in the first five games of his crushing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 loss to Nadal.
4 – match points missed by Gael Monfils against David Goffin in the fourth set of his third-round defeat.
16 – wins from as many meetings for Nadal against Gasquet.
