The Latest: Zverev beats Nishikori to reach French Open QFs

Updated Jun. 6, 2021 5:13 p.m. ET
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open (all times local):

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11:10 p.m.

Alexander Zverev has reached his third French Open quarterfinal by eliminating Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.

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The No. 6-seeded Zverev is seeking his first Grand Slam title. He was the runner-up at last year's U.S. Open.

Zverev lost the first two sets he played at Roland Garros this year but turned that opening match around to win in five and now has won 12 consecutive sets.

Up next for Zverev, a 24-year-old from Germany, is a match Tuesday against unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.

Nishikori was a U.S. Open finalist in 2014 and has been ranked as high as No. 4. But he's now lost 10 matches in a row against Top 10 opponents.

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9 p.m.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Federico Delbonis at Roland Garros.

The 22-year-old Davidovich Fokina is ranked 46th.

The Spaniard was the junior champion at Wimbledon in 2017.

Next up for Davidovich Fokina will be a match against No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev or Kei Nishikori.

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7:15 p.m.

Serena Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title has ended at the French Open.

Williams lost in the fourth round to 21st-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 7-5.

The six-foot Rybakina, who is 21, was playing in the fourth round of a major for the first time. She still hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament.

The 39-year-old Williams first played at Roland Garros in 1998, one year before Rybakina was born.

Rybakina broke at love in the next-to-last game, and then calmly served out the victory.

Williams’ most recent major title came in early 2017. She had been 13-0 against players from Kazakhstan.

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6:35 p.m.

Serena Williams has lost the opening set of her fourth-round match at the French Open.

Williams dropped the set by a 6-3 score against 21st-seeded Elena Rybakina.

This is the 64th time Williams has been this far at a Grand Slam tournament.

Rybakina never has played in the fourth round of a major before.

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5:25 p.m.

Daniil Medvedev’s remarkable turnaround at the French Open has propelled him to the quarterfinals.

The Russian beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 Sunday. Medvedev is seeded No. 2, but few envisioned his current run of success because he arrived in Paris with a career record of 0-4 at Roland Garros.

Medvedev received treatment on his right elbow during the third set against Garin but finished strong, hitting a succession of winners to take the final two games.

An intriguing showdown looms Tuesday when Medvedev plays No. 5-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. Medvedev leads their rivalry 6-1, including two wins in majors.

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5:05 p.m.

Iga Swiatek and Bethanie Mattek-Sands have staged an improbable comeback to eliminate the top-seeded doubles team at the French Open.

Swiatek, the defending singles champion, and her partner overcame seven match points and a 5-1 deficit in the final set. They beat Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in a wild third-round match that took more than three hours.

When it finally ended, an

Swiatek will return to her pursuit of another singles title Monday when she faces Marta Kostyuk.

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4:30 p.m.

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the French Open to give himself a chance to recover after a long third-round match.

The tournament announced the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s withdrawal.

Federer said in a statement that it is important for him to listen to his body as he returns to action after two operations on his right knee.

The 39-year-old Federer was supposed to play against Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round on Monday.

Instead, Federer will turn his focus to the grass-court portion of the season. Wimbledon begins June 28. He has won a men’s-record eight titles there.

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2:25 p.m.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 10 years at Roland Garros.

The 31st-seeded Russian beat 2013 semifinalist Victoria Azarenka 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Pavlyuchenkova lost her only quarterfinal here in 2011.

She has also reached the quarters at the Australian Open and Wimbledon but has never reached the semifinals at any major.

To do so here, the 29-year-old Russian might have to beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

The seventh-seeded American plays No. 21 Elena Rybakina in the fourth round and the winner of that match takes on Pavlyuchenkova.

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12:40 p.m.

Tamara Zidansek has become the first Slovenian woman to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament.

She did so by winning 7-6 (4), 6-1 against Romanian Sorana Cirstea, who was also unseeded here.

Zidansek dropped to her knees and held her head in her hands after winning on her first match point with a forehand winner.

Prior to the tournament the 23-year-old Zidansek had never even beaten a top 10-ranked player.

Her previous best at a major was the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She'd twice lost in the first round at Roland Garros.

The previous best by a Slovenian woman was when Katarina Srebotnik reached the fourth round at the French Open and the U.S. Open.

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11:15 a.m.

Serena Williams continues her quest for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, and the 39-year-old American is playing in the fourth round at a major for the 64th time.

The seventh-seeded Williams takes on 21st-seeded Elena Rybakina. She has never been in the fourth round before at a major and faces three-time French Open winner Williams for the first time.

In men's play, No. 2 Daniil Medvedev continues his new-found fondness for clay.

The two-time losing Grand Slam finalist was 0-4 at Roland Garros before this tournament. The big-hitting Russian plays No. 22 Cristian Garin for a place in the quarterfinals.

No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 6 Alexander Zverev are also in action.

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