PARIS : Aryna Sabalenka swatted aside Kamilla Rakhimova to remind her rivals of her French Open title credentials while Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov also moved into the fourth round by stopping wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday.Sabalenka, the big-serving world number two, beat Russian Rakhimova 6
PARIS : Aryna Sabalenka swatted aside Kamilla Rakhimova to remind her rivals of her French Open title credentials while Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov also moved into the fourth round by stopping wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis on Friday.
Khachanov looked to be in trouble midway through his match against Kokkinakis but stepped up his game in the crunch moments to get past his Australian opponent 6-4 6-1 3-6 7-6. The 29-year-old Pegula particularly struggled against the versatility of Mertens, who ran her opponent ragged with some delightful sliced forehands, drops, lobs and deep shots to breeze through the match in 82 minutes.
"I have to be quick because I'm not that powerful like many girls," Kasatkina explained."Physically I'm not that gifted, so I have to be quick. I have to find ways to win, to survive.Last year's semi-finalist Kasatkina will need to show her best form again in the next round where she can potentially meet former world number three Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian takes on Russian Anna Blinkova later on Friday.
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