Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova let a 3-1 lead slip away in the first set, but prevailed in second and third set to defeat Victoria Azarenka 5-7 6-3 6-2 and advance to the quarterfinals of the French Open.
The match opened with an exchange of breaks initiated by Azarenka. Then Pavlyuchenkova built a 3-1 lead, but it didn’t last as Azarenka immediately leveled to 3-3. Azarenka recorded a crucial break in the 44th minute and won a long game that followed to take the first set.
In the second set, Azarenka again fought back, from 0-2 to 3-3, but this time Pavlyuchenkova stopped her recovery, winning nine of the last eleven games in the match.
In the quarterfinals, Pavlyuchenkova will face the winner of the match between Serena Williams and Elena Rybakina. (photo: Jimmie48)
Pavs backed up her huge win over Sabalenka with a comeback win over Vika. After Azarenka came back from an early break down in the first set to win it, I thought she would surely win in straight sets. Congratulations to Paula Badosa for beating 2019 finalist Vondrousova in 3 sets to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Found an interesting article about the special bond that Badosa and Marta Kostyuk formed on the long flight from Abu Dhabi to the Australian Open earlier this year. They both contracted Covid-19 and had to be quarantined. And now they are both still playing at the French! ( ‘though it seems Kostyuk’s days are numbered as she plays reigning champ Iga Swiatek next)
https://www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/marta-kostyuk-paula-badosa-friendship-roland-garros