Swiatek digs herself out of French Open deep hole

Four-time champion Iga Swiatek clawed her way back from the brink to reach the French Open quarterfinals by defeating her claycourt nemesis Elena Rybakina while men’s title holder Carlos Alcaraz also went through after a tough workout on Sunday.

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Fifth seed Swiatek looked out of sorts as she trailed 6-1 2-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier, leaving the crowd stunned. But Swiatek found her groove and some grit to prevail 1-6 6-3 7-5.

Her final opponent from last year, Jasmine Paolini, was on the wrong end of another last-16 clash against 13th seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, the Italian wasting three match points in a 4-6 7-6(6) 6-1 defeat.

Svitolina will provide the next test for Swiatek, who continues her quest to become the first female player since tennis turned professional to claim the singles’ title four times in a row at Roland Garros.

The only women to win the singles at Roland Garros in four straight years were Jeanne Matthey from 1909-12 and Suzanne Lenglen from 1920-23 when only French players competed.

Since tennis turned professional in 1968, Swiatek is one of three women with Monica Seles and Justine Henin to enjoy three consecutive triumphs in Paris and on Sunday it looked like her quest for a fourth straight was going to crash to a halt.