Sabalenka and Swiatek through, Musetti battles into French Open last 16

Iga Swiatek kept her bid for a fourth consecutive French Open title on track on Friday, advancing to the last 16 at Roland Garros along with top women's seed Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

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Italy's Lorenzo Musetti and Dane Holger Rune rallied to set up a fourth-round clash.

Swiatek came through despite a very close second set against Romania's world number 60 Jaqueline Cristian, winning 6-2, 7-5 in nearly two hours in sweltering conditions on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

"Before it was 20 degrees when I played my first match but today it was 30 degrees. It is not easy to adjust but I have played in every condition," said Swiatek.

She will play 12th seed Elena Rybakina for a place in the quarter-finals after the Kazakh dispatched 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-2 in a clash of big hitters.

She has a 4-4 record against Rybakina but has lost both previous meetings on clay. Swiatek though could scarcely hide her relief at avoiding Ostapenko, who is 6-0 against her.

A former world number one, who has fallen to fifth in the WTA rankings, Swiatek has not won a title since her third consecutive title on the Parisian clay in 2024.