Impressive Rybakina beats Svitolina to reach quarters

Elena Rybakina claimed a comfortable win over Elina Svitolina to reach the French Open quarter-finals for the second time.

The Kazakh fourth seed struggled for rhythm in the first set but grew in confidence and quality to register a 6-4 6-3 win over the Ukrainian.

Rybakina reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2021 but has never gone beyond that stage.

The former Wimbledon champion will face either Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini or Russia's Elina Avanesyan for a semi-final spot.

"I'm really happy with the performance - she is a great fighter," Rybakina said.

"I am really proud of how I have improved in the last few years and I am happy to finally play under an open roof with good weather."

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka continues her bid for a first French Open title as she faces rising star Emma Navarro on Monday.

The winner of that match will face either Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva or home hope Varvara Gracheva.

Rybakina had lost her only previous meeting on clay against Svitolina in 2020 - but that was before she was a major champion and a permanent fixture in the world's top five.

She broke Svitolina in the first game of the match but her misfiring forehand allowed her opponent to break back.

There was no real show of frustration from Rybakina - other than a shake of the head - as her shots continued to fly long, and she began to move Svitolina around the court and come to the net more to re-establish a break lead.

After closing out the first set, Rybakina immediately broke to start the second, finding more timing on her forehand in particular.

She let a double break lead slip, having led Svitolina 4-1 at one point, but her easy power and strong serving was enough to secure victory.

Rybakina has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros and is the only player left who has a positive head-to-head record against overwhelming favourite Iga Swiatek.