Day 5 of the French Open was terrific viewing from start to finish, with several excellent women’s matches taking place. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina were among the players to feature on a day where many upsets occurred. This article recaps who looked good, which players struggled and names the match that stood out the most.
French Open Day 5 Women’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Aryna Sabalenka was dominant once again at the French Open. She eased past Moyuka Uchijima 6-2 6-2. The world No. 2 was not broken throughout the match, although she did save four break points. Sabalenka’s place in the latter stages in Paris seems a formality with the form she is showing so far.
Elena Rybakina also managed to prevail in straight sets for the second match in a row. She was a 6-3 6-4 winner against Arantxa Rus, who defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round. Rybakina was clinical by taking three of her four break point chances.
Madison Keys’ excellent clay-court season continued on Day 5 of the French Open. The recent champion in Strasbourg triumphed 6-0 7-6 against Mayar Sherif, who always plays her best tennis on the dirt. The Egyptian came to life in the second set and came very close to forcing a decider. But Keys kept her level high and won a very tight tiebreak 9-7 to progress.
Clara Tauson produced an outstanding display of powerful hitting to upset the 2017 champion at Roland Garros Jelena Ostapenko. Both women played at a high level, with Ostapenko losing despite hitting 45 winners throughout the match. The Dane claimed a 7-6 4-6 6-3 victory.
Donna Vekic also managed to cause an upset at the French Open. She knocked out the 18th seed Marta Kostyuk 7-5 6-4. The Ukrainian has enjoyed a great overall season so far but she struggled against the Croatian’s aggressive style. Vekic deserves huge credit for being able to take time away from Kostyuk from start to finish.
Who Looked Bad
No. 10 seed Daria Kasatkiana exited the French Open to the in-form Peyton Stearns. The American certainly played well and implemented an attacking style to hit through the usually solid Kasatkina. But the Russian, who is usually very adept at soaking up pressure, was surprisingly poor in her 7-5 6-2 defeat.
2021 runner-up in Paris Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also lost in straight sets. Anna Bogdan caused an upset by triumphing 6-4 6-4. Pavlyuchenkova leaked 30 unforced errors in two sets, with Bogdan’s strong defense causing her problems throughout the match.
2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova had a particularly bad day. The 22-year-old was swept aside 2-6 1-6 by Liudmila Samsonova. The American has played some good matches since her return to the sport this year, but this was her worst performance since coming back.
Match Of The Day
There were many possible picks for match of the day after so much entertaining tennis was played on Day 5 of the French Open. Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva defeated two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka 6-3 3-6 7-5 in a long and absorbing battle. Bianca Andreescu winning a second consecutive match in her first event back since a long injury was also great viewing. The Canadian upset Anna Kalinskaya 1-6 7-5 6-3. Chloe Paquet’s 3-6 7-6 7-6 win against 32nd seed Katerina Siniakova was also great to watch.
Despite those superb matches, Olga Danilovic’s stunning upset of Danielle Collins was the best women’s battle of the day. There were no breaks of serve in the opening set, with both players serving and striking the ball excellently. Collins then took control of the tiebreak and won it 7-3 to take the first set 7-6. After a series of breaks in the second set, Collins got herself into a winning position at 5-3 up. But the Serbian stunned the American by roaring back. She forced a decider by reeling off four games in a row.
After the pair exchanged a break each in the third set, Collins served to stay in the tournament at 4-5 down. Once again, she could not find big serves when she needed it most and Danilovic broke to seal a 6-7 7-5 6-4 victory. It was Collins’ fourth defeat in her last 27 matches.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
