Sabalenka's barren Grand Slam run continues as Pavlyuchenkova storms into French Open Last 16
WTAFriday, 04 June 2021 at 12:55
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has produced again with the Russian dumping out one of the main favourites for the title left at the French Open in Aryna Sabalenka.
A lot was discussed pre tournament despite Sabalenka's brilliant year about her barren run in Grand Slam tournaments with the third seed yet to reach a Quarter-Final in her career and this has continued.
It was a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 victory for the World Number 32 who unlike Sabalenka has reached six Quarter-Finals in her career including on this surface back in 2011.
It opens the bottom half up even further which has seen seeds fall throughout the opening rounds with only Serena Williams left inside the top 10.
A tie with Victoria Azarenka likely awaits the Russian who is currently leading Madison Keys at time of writing 6-2, 3-2 in their tie over on Court Phillipe-Chatrier.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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