Azarenka upset in fourth round, Tamara Zidansek advances

In the first two singles matches on day eight of the French Open, it was Victoria Azarenka who was up against Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, while Tamara Zidansek took on Sorana Cristea. In the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier, it was Pavyluchenkova who pulled off the upset, as she defeated 15-seed Azarenka in three sets 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and nine minutes. In the first match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Zidansek defeated Cristea in just an hour and 26 minutes, winning in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-1.

Pavyluchenkova and Zidansek have booked their spots in the quarterfinals with their wins on Sunday, as this will be the first career Grand Slam quarterfinal for Zidansek. For Pavyluchenkova, this will be her second career Roland Garros quarterfinal, and her first since all the way back in 2011.

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Pavyluchenkova fought back well in her match against Azarenka, as after she lost the first set, she broke on just the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Both players would continue to trade breaks of serve in the set until Pavyluchenkova would break Azarenka once more to make it 5-3, where she would eventually serve it out in the next game to take the set 6-3.

Azarenka actually led 2-1 in the final set, before Pavyluchenkova found an extra gear and won five straight games to take the set 6-2 and advance to the quarterfinals. The difference in the match was the number of winners Pavyluchenkova hit, as she blasted 45 winners against Azarenka to go along with just 27 unforced errors, according to Infosys Match Centre.

Tamara Zidansek had never played in the fourth round of a Major before Sunday’s match, although it would have been hard to tell by watching her play, as she played really well against Cristea.

Zidansek was simply better on the big points in the match, as Cristea had seven break points in the match, but only broke Zidansek’s serve once. Zidansek on the other hand had only four opportunities to break, yet converted three of those times to easily put the second set away.

Both players had the same number of winners in the match, but the difference was that Cristea hit eight more unforced errors, according to Infosys Match Centre. Four of Cristea’s 28 unforced errors came in that first set tiebreak, as the fourth one sealed the set for Zidansek, and she would not look back from there, taking the second set 6-1 to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Next up for Pavyluchenkova will be the winner between Serena Williams and Elena Rybakina, while Zidansek will play Paula Badosa in the quarters, as Badosa defeated Marketa Vondrousova in three sets earlier Sunday.