French Open 2024: Tsitsipas glides past Zhang into fourth round

Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised past China’s Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-3 6-1 on Friday, reaching the fourth round of the French Open for the sixth year in a row.

The finalist in 2021 sent more than 30 winners to wrap up the match in just 91 minutes, setting up a meeting with Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who stunned sixth seed Andrey Rublev earlier on Friday.

Zhang became the first Chinese man in 86 years to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros last year en route to the third round, but could not improve on that showing as he was never able to set up a break-point chance.

“It’s great to see myself in a position to get out there and play so effectively but also accurately at the same time,” said Tsitsipas, ranking it among the best performances he has produced at the clay court tournament.

ALSO READ | Birthday girl Swiatek notches easy win against Bouzkova to reach last 16

“I feel like my shots were very precise. Wherever I was aiming, I was able to produce some really high-quality shots.”

The ninth-ranked Tsitsipas came charging out of the gate, winning the first three games, and kept up the momentum as he broke Zhang on his second try in the opening game of the second set.

Tsitsipas played pristine tennis, producing just three unforced errors in the second set, as he broke Zhang again in the ninth game.

Zhang struggled with his forehand late in the match and sent shots out of bounds on back-to-back points to hand Tsitsipas the break in the fourth game of the third set, and the Greek ran away with it from there.

Tsitsipas, who picked up his third Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo last month, said he would need to approach his next opponent Arnaldi with caution.

“I have been keeping an eye on him. I know exactly what kind of a profile of player he is,” he told reporters.

“He’s a very good fighter. When it comes to the battle, he will fight and he will not give up. This is something for sure that I do expect.”