PARIS – Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China secured a spot in the French Open Round of 16 for the second time with a straight-sets win over Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko, 6-3, 6-4, on Friday.

The eighth seed, who broke through in Paris in 2022, praised her young opponent and thanked the crowd for their support in the hot conditions.

"I was born in China in a really hot place, which is called Wuhan. So, I handled the hot weather quite well," Zheng said in her post-match interview.

"Last year, when I played the Olympic Games, it was hotter than this. So, actually I like this condition, but I want to say thanks to all the crowd who suffered here under the sun today with me."

Top contenders across both draws continued their dominant runs.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus eased past Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 to enter the fourth round for the third consecutive year.

Reigning champion Iga Swiatek of Poland extended her Roland Garros win streak to 24 matches, defeating Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-3.

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, last year’s finalist, cruised past Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-4, 6-1.

On the men’s side, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a challenge from Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, winning 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a fourth-round clash with American Ben Shelton.

Danish 10th seed Holger Rune rallied past Frenchman Quentin Halys in five sets, while No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti also advanced, setting up a high-stakes showdown between the two. (Xinhua)