Krejcikova swats aside Stephens to book French Open quarterfinal spot

Krejcikova, who won the 2018 doubles title at Roland Garros with Katerina Siniakov, has been unbeaten since a maiden title-winning run in Strasbourg ahead of the French Open.

Published : Jun 07, 2021 16:19 IST , PARIS

Barbora Krejcikova celebrates after beating Sloane Stephens on Monday.
Barbora Krejcikova celebrates after beating Sloane Stephens on Monday.
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Barbora Krejcikova celebrates after beating Sloane Stephens on Monday.

Big-hitting Czech Barbora Krejcikova powered past former French Open finalist Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-0 in a clash of unseeded players to reach the quarter-finals on Monday.

The 33rd-ranked Krejcikova, who won the 2018 doubles title at Roland Garros with Katerina Siniakova, has not lost since a maiden title-winning run in Strasbourg and dominated the 2017 U.S. Open winner on a sun-bathed Suzanne Lenglen court.

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Former world number three Stephens, who reached the final in Paris in 2018, did not have any answer to Krejcikova's powerful but effortless stroke-making in their first meeting and did not help her cause by committing 26 unforced errors.

Krejcikova was the third Czech opponent for Stephens in a row and the American was forced to hurry her shots in the face of clean hitting from her opponent.

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"I was just thinking I have to play my game, I have to be aggressive, because I was expecting she's going to play like high, really topspin balls," Krejcikova told reporters.

"And it was actually happening. And then, you know, I just think that I was playing smarter. I was actually playing all those important points really well, so I think that was actually the key.

"I felt a little bit that I actually wasn't the favourite. I felt that Sloane was the favourite. That's how I actually approached the match."

The 25-year-old Krejcikova broke the American's serve twice in the opening set and then wiped her out in the second.

The Czech won 82per cent of her first serve points and saved all three break points she faced.

Krejcikova converted her second match point with a forehand winner, her 10th of the match, and will meet another American in 17-year-old Coco Gauff, who thrashed Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-1, for a place in the semi-finals.

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