Roland-Garros Ons Jabeur and Casper Ruud reach the quarter-finals

(Paris) Bernarda Pera failed to win a service game on Monday en route to a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Ons Jabeur in the fourth round of the French Open tennis tournament.

The American was the victim of eight breaks of service against the Tunisian, seventh seed of the tournament, on the clay court of Philippe-Chatrier. Jabeur took 15 of 16 points on the second ball from Pera, a player who was not among the top seeds. Jabeur, who was runner-up at Wimbledon last year, reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros for the first time in his career.

She certainly experienced some glitches with her serve against Pera, but she still managed to save eight of the 12 break points offered to her rival.

Pera appeared frustrated at times, and she occasionally tried to rush the end of the trade — a strategy that was doomed to fail. She committed a total of 33 unforced errors.

Jabeur will cross swords in the next round with the 14^e seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, who overcame Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo after a nearly four-hour marathon match.

Haddad Maia came from behind to defeat Sorribes Tormo 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 in a duel that was punctuated by 16 breaks of service as a steady wind blew across the pitch. Haddad Maia thus became the first Brazilian player to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament since Maria Bueno, who found herself in the semi-finals of the United States Open in 1968.

Sorribes Tormo advanced to the fourth round after her opponent, reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, withdrew from the tournament due to a virus.

The Spaniard, however, will continue her journey in doubles with her Czech playing partner Marie Bouzkova. The duo advanced to the next round on Sunday when their rivals were forced to forfeit after Miyu Kato hit a ball attendant in the neck after a point.

Still in women’s doubles, Quebec’s Leylah Annie Fernandez and her American playing partner Taylor Townsend beat Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazilian teammate Luisa Stefani 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2 in the third round. Fernandez and Townsend will face Taiwanese Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching in the quarter-finals.

Later today, women’s tournament favorite Iga Swiatek will face Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko on the Suzanne-Lenglen court, while American Coco Gauff will face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova . Last year, Swiatek defeated Gauff in the final of the second major tournament of the season. They could meet again, this time in the quarter-finals, provided they each win their fourth-round match.

On the men’s side, the fourth seed Casper Ruud, finalist last year, fought three sets and 3:20 to overcome the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (35^e) 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5 and qualify for the quarter-finals.

“It was three very, very difficult sets… How long would it have been if we had gone to the fifth set? wondered the 24-year-old Norwegian, while specifying that he was “ready if it had been necessary to play more”.

“He serves very well and fortunately this court (Philippe-Chatrier) is the one with the most distance, it allowed me to raise from far behind my baseline,” he added.

Ruud, who also played in the United States Open final last year, will try to find the last four in Paris on Wednesday by facing Danish prodigy Holger Rune (6^e) or Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (23^e).

For his part, the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (no 27) will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while the German Alexander Zverev (no 22) will have an appointment with Grigor Dimitrov (no 28) in the evening.

With Agence France-Presse