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On more than a few occasions, Linette has done the hard work then missed with her winner, and a forehand swiped down the line but wide, means that at 30-all, she\u2019s two points away from defeat. But she then plays a really good rally for 40-30, then Swiatek goes long on the backhand, meaning she must serve for the match after change of ends.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Of course, as I type, Jodar serves three doubles in the process of surrendering his break, so he now leads 3-2 while, on Lenglen, Borges has the umpire down so he can chunter about a ball he thinks is out and on Chatrier, Linette is serving at 4-6 3-5 to stay in the mach.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jodar breaks Michelsen for 3-1, and there\u2019s a really good composure about him \u2013 he knows he\u2019s meant to be here. Unlike the lads who try taking four of the 11 spare seats in his box \u2013 his old fella hoofs them out in short order, but biggup for trying.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Carreno Busta now leads Tirante 7-6 7-5; Rublev leads Borges 2-0 3-2; Linette retrieves one break to trail Swiatek 4-6 3-4.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.24 EDT<\/p>\n Linette made it close for a bit, but Swiatek breaks her again to lead 6-4 4-1, and this is almost over. I can\u2019t wait to see her match with Kostyuk, though, because she\u2019ll need all her copious wiles to handle the power and point-construction that awaits her.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On Mathieu, Jodar and Michelsen are ready to go, telly showing us that the former only has one man in his box. I guess he\u2019s only 19 and his mates are busy \u2013 his rise has been remarkable. At the start of the year, he was ranked 168, but a win in Marrakesh, followed by a semi in Barca and quarter in Madrid, means he came to Paris seeded in only his second slam.<\/p>\n And if that isn\u2019t enough, Jannik Sinner, who beat him in Madrid, is a fan:<\/p>\n double quotation mark\u201cHe\u2019s already a very solid player, and I think he has shown why. He\u2019s playing very, very high-quality tennis. Everyone is improving, you know, so you need always to be in the present moment. That\u2019s also one of the reasons why I went to watch him, you know, him and Joao Fonseca. I like to watch because I know that they are going to be potentially the future opponents most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Borges has netted a lot today, especially on backhand, and that\u2019s exactly what he does when up break point in the opening game of set three; from there, Rublev closes out the game to lead 7-5 7-6 1-0. On Chatrier, meanwhile, Swiatek leads Linette 6-4 3-1.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In the men\u2019s dubs, Julian Cash & Lloyd Glasspool, the Wimbledon champs, have been knocked out by the Czech pair, Pavlasek and Rikl; Carreno Bustas leads Tirante 7-6 5-5; and Swiatek leads Linette 6-4 2-1 with a break.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Xiy Wang beats Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3 7-5<\/p>\n The qualifier beats the conqueror of the no 2 seed. Next for her: Sierra or Cirstea.<\/p>\n Xiyu Wang powers a backhand to Yuliia Starodubtseva during her straight sets victory. Photograph: Matthew Stockman\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.29 EDT<\/p>\n Back with Rublev, as we suspected, Boeges just isn\u2019t quite good enough to stick with him. He breezes through a 7-2 breaker to lead 7-5 7-6, and I can\u2019t see how he loses from here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kostyuk, into the last 1 for the first time since 2021, says it means a lot. She\u2019s had really bad results in Paris and her opponents this year were really tricky, \u201cSo I couldn\u2019t rush, I had to create the points, not something I love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Next, she thanks the crowd for their support in al her matches so far then, asked abot the 15-minute game which secured the first set, she says she started well then began rushing, losing her advantage, but she felt like she was the better player and having lost a set last round from 5-4 0-40 that extended her time on court, she really wanted to get it done. She didn\u2019t feel the heat so much but it\u2019s incredibly humid today and she woke up today not feeling good, the heat taking its toll on everyone, but she knows from Sunday the weather changes.<\/p>\n Asked about her form on clay, she says she\u2019s gone back to \u201cLittle Me\u201d. She used to play well on clay, then she decided she had to to grow up and do things differently, but now she\u2019s rediscovering the joy of creating the points, changing tempo and running around a lot, something she loves to do that isn\u2019t difficult for her.<\/p>\n What a great, enlightening and refreshing interview that was. I think this blog has a new favourite to add to Maddison Keys.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Lovely behaviour from Rublev, who makes 40-0 then secures his breaker with a leaping, wrong-footing backhand smash, sending it down the line from on the line, rather than cross as anticipated. Can Borges find the quality to reach seven points first?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Next on Mathieu: Alex Michelsen v Rafael Jodar (27).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Talking of whom, though Linette played some really good stuff in set one, Swiatek has just served it out to lead 6-4. On Lenglen, an impressive hold for Borges means Rublev must now hold for a second-set breaker at 7-5 5-6.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Marta Kostyuk (15) beats Viktorija Golubic 6-4 6-3<\/p>\n An impressive win, sealed with a glorious flat backhand down the line, over a tricky opponent. Kostyuk, though, was too good, and should she meet Swiatek not Linette next, don\u2019t be surprised if she wins.<\/p>\n Marta Kostyuk bangs out a backhand return during her straight sets victory over Viktorija Golubic. Photograph: Loic Baratoux\/Zuma Press\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.02 EDT<\/p>\n I\u2019ve enjoyed Kostyuk\u2019s demeanour so far this week \u2013 she has a big game, which necessarily means errors, but hasn\u2019t got down on herself when things haven\u2019t gone to plan and, as I type, she reaches 40-15 and two match points.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Golubic holds, forcing Kostyuk to serve for the match at 6-4 5-3; Swiatek breaks Linette and is now serving for the first set at 5-4.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Talking of whom, at 40-30, Kostyuk chucks in an underarm serve, secures the hold, and at 5-2 she\u2019s a game away. When Michael Chang tried it, too exhausted to do anything else, I don\u2019t think he anticipated its eventual emergence as a tactic.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Even now, it\u2019s remarkable that he won the title. At the time, I wasn\u2019t happy \u2013 Stefan Edberg, who he beat in the final, was my favourite because, I can now see, his calm and composure was the opposite of 10-year-old me. But looking back, how great that he got it done.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Down break point again, Rublev\u2019s forehand gets him out of trouble, then a vicious top-spinner seizes advantage and an inside-out backhand secures the hold. As with Kostyuk, it\u2019s clear the match is on his racket: he can hit a level of which his opponent cannot dream, and if he\u2019s anywhere close to it, it doesn\u2019t matter what happens on the other side of the net.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Out on 14, Carreno Busta has taken the first set against Tirante and now leads 3-0 in set two; Wang leads Starodubtseva 6-3 but trails 2-4 in the second; Kostyuk leads Golubic 6-4 4-1, looking good; and Linette has just broken Swiatek back for 3-3 in the first.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I very much enjoyed this:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It\u2019s so interesting to hear Murray talk about practise \u2013 I remember Kevin Pietersen saying the same to me, first about cricket but also about golf. The mental capacity to enjoy doing the same things, over and over again, and to work out what to do to get better, is just as much a talent as being good at them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In winning that long game to take the first set, Kostyuk might just\u2019ve broken the back of this match; she now leads 2-0 in the second, and I\u2019m already buzzing at the thought of a fourth-round encounter with Swiatek. Back on Lenglen, Rublev is back in business, breaking Borges to lead 7-5 2-3, and it feels like he\u2019ll do whatever is asked of him to win this match; I don\u2019t think Borges, crafty though he is, can hit consistently enough to beat him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Now then. Swiatek is brilliant at coaxing herself through the rounds, but she\u2019ll not be happy to be broken immediately, Linette leading 2-0 \u2026 er, make that 2-1, the advantage immediately confiscated. Meantime, Rublev has also been broken, the serving that settled set one forsaking him in two, and that, really is the difference; he hammers his racket into the clay, which is better than doing so into himself, and he leads 7-5 1-3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Borges, who\u2019ll feel unlucky to have lost the first set, breaks Rublev immediately for 5-7 2-0, while Linette holds in game one of her clash with Swiatek.<\/p>\n Nuno Borges dashes across court to make a forehand return to Andrey Rublev. Photograph: St\u00e9phane Mah\u00e9\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.04 EDT<\/p>\n Better work at the net from Kostyuk restores deuce as the game ticks towards 13 minutes, then she nails a return to raise her fourth set point \u2026 only to overhit backhand. If she loses this, I\u2019d not be surprised to see her broken next up because the emotional dump of disappointment might well be distracting. But a backhand winner down the line gives her yet another opportunity to forge in front and this time, Golubic swats wide. Kostyuk, who won both Rouen and Madrid, so hasn\u2019t lost for 13 matches, leads 6-4.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Golubic nets a mid-court forehand when up advantage while, elsewhere, Tirente leads Carreno Busta 6-5 \u2013 I\u2019m turning that match off now to get on Swiatek v Linette \u2013 and Wang is up on Starodubtseva 6-3 1-0, with a break.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On Mathieu, Kostyuk leads Golubic 5-4 and, at deuce, a terrific return raises a second set point. And she\u2019s well in the rally, until Golubic finds a lovely angle to attack the sideline, cleaning up with an overhead \u2026 but when she makes advantage, Kostyuk opens shoulders to annihilate a inside-out forehand cross-court, indulging herself by saluting the crowd \u2026 only to make a mess of her next volley, this time opting not to ask what anyone else thinks. She does, though, make advantage again, the power differential clear to see \u2026 only to drag a backhand wide when nicely placed; back to deuce we go while, on Lenglen, Rublev returns after disappearing between sets.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Borges dominates the first rally of the game only to tamely waft a volley long. He does, though, make 15-30 \u2026 but a really good, flat, squash-shotted forehand from Rublev restores parity and another netted backhand offers him set point, neither player able to sustain their best play. So we wind up at deuce, then an ace and a service winner, fired out wide from the advantage court \u2013 the hardest to hit \u2013 snatch the set, the emphatic nature of its climax out of keeping with what went before. But Rublev leads 7-5, and Borges will have to play seriously well if he maintains the same standard on first delivery.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A forehand return, coaxed down the line, gives Rublev 0-15 and a backhand of similar quality means that at 0-30, he\u2019s in business. And though Borges levels, a netted backhand means he must face a break point \u2026 and another netted backhand donates the breakthrough. At 6-5, Rublev will shortly serve for a first set in which he\u2019s been second-best.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rublev raises two break points but Borges saves them well, allowing his impetuous opponent to overhit; he leads 5-4 in the first. Similarly, Golubic also burns a break point by going long, but already it\u2019s clear that if Kostyuk plays well, she wins whatever her opponent does; the question is whether she can hit consistently enough, because she\u2019s by far the more powerful and talented player. She holds for 4-3, while Rublev is struggling, Borges outmanoeuvring him around the court, but his serve gets him out of trouble at 0-30, to level at 5-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On Lenglen, Borges and Rublev are level at 4-4; Golubic has just been broken back to love by Kostyuk for 3-3, this the first time she\u2019s lost this many games in a set at this tournament; Tirante, the fastest server in the world, leads Carreno Busta 3-2 on serve; and Starodubtseva, conqueror of Rybakina, leads Wang 3-2 with a break.<\/p>\n