Swiatek streak at 30 after French Open romp

Tennis

PARIS — Make that 30 in a row for Iga Swiatek.

The top-ranked Swiatek routed Alison Riske 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the third round of the French Open and extend the longest winning streak in women’s tennis since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013. The 20-year-old Polish player hasn’t lost in more than three months.

The 2020 French Open champion compiled a 23-6 edge in winners over her 43rd-ranked American opponent.

Two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova lost in the second round to a French wild-card entry making her debut in any Grand Slam tournament.

The 227th-ranked Leolia Jeanjean‘s 6-2, 6-2 victory over the eighth-seeded Pliskova means that six of the top 10 women in the seedings at the French Open are gone before the second round is completed.

Pliskova joins No. 2 Barbora Krejcikova, No. 4 Maria Sakkari, No. 5 Anett Kontaveit, No. 6 Ons Jabeur and No. 10 Garbine Muguruza on the way out.

Pliskova has been ranked No. 1 and was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year and the US Open in 2016. She also has reached the semifinals at the other two major tournaments, including the 2017 French Open.

Jeanjean is a 26-year-old from Montpellier. She trailed 2-1 at the start Thursday before winning nine consecutive games to take the opening set and grab a 4-0 lead in the second. Pliskova made 28 unforced errors and was broken in half of her eight service games.

No. 3 Paula Badosa went down a break to open the third set of her match against 68th-ranked Kaja Juvan before regrouping to grab four games in a row and record a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory at Court Suzanne Lenglen that took more than two hours.

Badosa’s best showing at a Grand Slam tournament was a quarterfinal appearance at the 2021 French Open. She will face No. 29 Veronika Kudermetova next.

Americans Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys also advanced to the third round. Pegula defeated Anhelina Kalinina 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, and Keys topped Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, relied on her dominant serve to get past her French opponent on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The 22nd-seeded American will next face 16th-seeded Elena Rybakina, the only woman with more aces than Keys this season. Keys is making her 10th appearance at the French Open and reached the semifinals four years ago.

Keys at one point got her necklace stuck in her hair, so chair umpire Jaume Campistol helped her untangle it.

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