'Like I was playing Sinner' - Swiatek battles to beat Rybakina

Defending champion Iga Swiatek battled back from a disastrous start to beat Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller and reach the French Open quarter-finals.

The Polish fifth seed won only one of the opening nine games before finding form to triumph 1-6 6-3 7-5 against the 12th seed.

Victory was Swiatek's 25th in a row at the French Open as she bids to win her fifth title in six years.

Such was Rybakina's dominance in the opening set that Swiatek joked it was like playing against men's top seed Jannik Sinner.

"She really pushed me," said the four-time champion at Roland Garros. "First set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner.

"I needed to do something to get back into the game. With her playing like that I didn't have a lot of hope. At the end, I was able to play my game, and I am super happy."

Swiatek will now face Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina in the last eight after her 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 success against Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini.

Swiatek has been nicknamed the 'Queen of Clay' because of her dominance at Roland Garros, but has faced questions about her form leading up to the tournament.

The five-time Grand Slam-winner has not won a title – or even reached a final – since victory in Paris 12 months ago.

Swiatek is known for her fast start in matches but was uncharacteristic sloppy in the early stages as Rybakina raced into a 5-0 lead.

The 24-year-old saved two set points to get on the board and prevent being bageled, but her opponent would soon wrap up the set inside 35 minutes.

Rybakina's dominance continued early in the second set as she went 2-0 up, winning the first eight points, but the match's turning point soon followed.

The Kazakhstani missed a straightforward overhead smash to hand Swiatek the crucial break back and how she capitalised on the opportunity, breaking again later with a forehand winner and taking the set 6-3.

In a closely contested deciding set, the pair traded breaks of serve before Swiatek secured the crucial one to go 6-5 up and sealed the triumph with a thunderous forehand winner.

Svitolina produced a superb fightback to upset last year's finalist Paolini, saving three match points before winning the second set and taking control in the third.

Italian Paolini had a breakthrough year in 2024, reaching the French Open and Wimbledon finals and was regarded a title contender in Paris.

The 29-year-old came into the tournament in good form after winning the Italian Open last month, and started well, taking the opening three games.

After the pair traded breaks, Paolini pummelled a forehand winner past Svitolina for the decisive one to take the first set 6-4.

As both struggled to hold in the second set, the Italian served at 5-3, but Svitolina saved two match points and forced a tie-break.

The 30-year-old held off another match point in the tie-break before winning the set and taking that momentum into the deciding third set.

Svitolina dominated with her forehand, hitting 10 winners to Paolini's four, before a backhand down the line secured her place in the last eight for a fifth time at Roland Garros.

"I still cannot believe this match finished my way. I still feel my head is in the match and in a big battle," she said.

"It was a really difficult match, Jasmine was playing really well. It was tough for me but I'm happy I stayed composed, fought until the very last point and here I am in the next round."