This looks set to be a prestige quarterfinal clash. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka reached her 3rd successive French Open quarterfinal courtesy of a hard-fought straight-sets win over Amanda Anisimova.
2025 WTA Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
French Open
Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Quarterfinals- 3rd June
Aryna Sabalenka (1) 0.35 vs Qinwen Zheng (8) 2.15
Sabalenka never had it all her own way in the early stages, with the 2019 French Open semifinalist racing into a 4-1 lead in the first set. Sabalenka eventually found her range and was simply too powerful from the back of the court. She has now collected 33 straight-sets victories this season (more than any other player has victories). That’s tells you all you need to know about her current level. She has also become the first woman since Serena Williams (2014-2017) to reach ten consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals. Sabalenka has already won three titles this season and will be aiming to reach just her 2nd career Roland Garros semifinal. She looks in full demolition mode but will face stiff competition in the form of reigning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
No.8 seed Qinwen Zheng is into the French Open quarters for the first tie following an attritional 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 win over hard-hitting Russian Liudmila Samsonova. Zheng- who captured Olympic Gold on these surfaces last year- has now won ten successive matches at Roland Garros. She has also become only the 2nd Chinese woman- after 2011 champ Li Na- to reach the final eight here in the Open Era. Zheng enjoyed a favourable draw in the early stages of this tournament, dropping just 19 games in her first three matches. But the big-hitting Samsonova matched Zheng’s power from the back of the court, causing the Chinese star to commit a litany of errors. Zheng stepped up on serve in the decisive set, firing five of her ten aces while only doubt-faulting once. Since 2023, only Swiatek and Sabalenka have reached more tour-level clay-court quarterfinals than Zheng. She will need to elevate her game if she wishes to end Sabalenka’s title aspirations. Luckily, she doesn’t need to go too far back in the memory bank find some inspiration.
The Verdict: Sabalenka to win in three at 2.95- Sabalenka leads Zheng 6-1 in their head-to-head meetings, winning their first six successive meetings (including the 2024 Aussie Open final). However, Zheng finally cracked the Sabalenka code at this year’s Italian Open, going toe-to-toe with Sabalenka to win 6-4, 6-3. I think that Zheng could give Sabalenka a tough match. Sabalenka is yet to drop a set and she usually experiences some flutters around this stage of the tournament (particularly in this Slam). However, Sabalenka has added some more variety to her game and that should see her through in three. Zheng can become a tad one-dimensional (she only came to the net five times against Samsonova).
