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[ad_1] PARIS: Reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek will attempt to become the first woman to successfully defend the title in Paris in 16 years on Saturday when she faces surprise finalist Karolina Muchova. World number one Swiatek is bidding for a third Roland Garros crown in four years and fourth Grand Slam title following her 2022 US Open victory. Justine Henin was the last woman to win back-to-back French Open titles when she captured her third in a row and fourth in total in 2007. Swiatek, 22, has yet to drop a set in this tournament but will be wary of her Czech opponent who knocked out second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals after recovering from 2-5 and match point down in the final set. Swiatek's last-four win over Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil coupled with Sabalenka's agonising defeat ensured the Pole will remain at number one heading into the grass-court part of the season. She is the youngest woman since Monica Seles in the early 1990s to r

[ad_1] PARIS: The French Open gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday without injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal who is absent for the first time since 2004. Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, aims to become the first champion to successfully defend the women's title since Justine Henin in 2007. AFP Sport looks at the top seeds' rivals looking to create first round shocks: Ranked at 159 in the world, 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli has the unenviable task of taking on world number one and US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz after coming through qualifying at Roland Garros. Cobolli, who made the quarter-finals on clay in the ATP event at Munich in April, is playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. Has already been a champion at Roland Garros – in 2020, he teamed with Switzerland's Dominic Stricker to win the boys' doubles. A former US Open junior champion, Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild is ranked 172 and had to play the qualifiers in Paris.

[ad_1] PARIS: Twelve months ago, a despondent Wu Yibing was retiring with injury from a low-level clay court tournament in Italy, earning a meagre 530 euros ($570) for his troubles. Fast-forward a year and 23-year-old Wu is his country's highest-ranked male player at 59 in the world and about to spearhead a landmark assault at the French Open where it has been 86 years since a Chinese man last played in the main draw. Wu will not be alone when the season's second major gets underway on Sunday as Zhang Zhizhen is also guaranteed a spot. Shang Juncheng can make it three Chinese men in the tournament if he gets through the final qualifying round on Thursday. "The excitement in China around the top Chinese male players is palpable now and there is strong media interest linked to the breakthrough of these players on tour," ATP executive vice-president Alison Lee told AFP. Kho Sin-Khie and Choy Wai-Chuen were the last men to represent China in the French capi

[ad_1] PARIS: Novak Djokovic admits "history is hovering" over him as he takes on Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday with a men's record 23rd Grand Slam title tantalisingly close. The 36-year-old Serb can set numerous landmarks in what will be his seventh championship match at Roland Garros. As well as breaking the 22-Slam tie he shares with Rafael Nadal, he can become both the tournament's oldest champion and the only man to win all four majors on at least three occasions. "The only thing I can say is that I'm very focused. History is always something that's hovering over me," said Djokovic , the 2016 and 2021 winner in Paris and now the oldest finalist in 93 years. Djokovic, playing his 34th Grand Slam final, can also return to the world number one ranking with victory over Ruud, replacing Carlos Alcaraz, the man he defeated in the semi-finals. Victory on Sunday would place him once again halfway to an historic calendar Gr