Vondrousova surges past Danilovic to return to Roland-Garros quarter-finals
Marketa Vondrousova defeated Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 and will face world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the last eight
Marketa Vondrousova – Zuma / Panoramic
Marketa Vondrousova ended Olga Danilovic’s impressive run at Roland-Garros, beating the Serbian qualifier 6-4, 6-2 to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since making the final here in 2019.
The reigning Wimbledon champion – also an accomplished clay-courter – looked in fine form in a battle between two left-handers as her powerful serve and persistent depth overwhelmed Danilovic, who appeared to be carrying some understandable fatigue after her mammoth efforts in the previous two rounds.
The Serb started brightly, breaking Vondrousova’s serve in the Czech’s opening service game to move into a promising 4-1 lead.
From there, however, the match shifted momentum rapidly and it was largely one-way traffic against Danilovic. The world No 6 surged into a seven-game winning streak that contained three damaging breaks of serve, breaking her opponent twice to steal the opening set and then move a break up in the second.
Danilovic did well to end that run and get on the scoreboard in the second stanza, but Vondrousova had all the momentum by this point and struck again in the seventh game before comfortably serving out for an impressive win.
“I love this court,” Vondrousova told Marion Bartoli in her on-court interview.
“Thank you guys for coming. It was amazing. The match was tough. I was down 1-4, she played some amazing points. I’m just happy to be through.
“I felt like I had to focus until the last point because she came back in the last two matches. I just stayed focused until the very last game. I felt good overall.”
danilovic’s breakthrough roland-garros run ends in fourth round
It has been an excellent tournament for Danilovic. Her fourth-round appearance is a career-best at a Grand Slam, and she showed superb resolve to take down both Danielle Collins and Donna Vekic en route to a maiden fourth-round berth.
Coming through three rounds of qualifying, this was the Serb’s seventh match at the tournament and the accumulated match-time showed itself in a fatigued performance against a very difficult opponent today.
Vondrousova, meanwhile, has now reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros for the second time in her career. The last time she made it this far, back in 2019, she went all the way to the final.
However, in the next round she will need to do what no player has done since Maria Sakkari in 2021 if she is to repeat that feat.
Vondrousova faces the toughest challenge in women’s tennis when she meets world No 1 and three-time Roland-Garros champion Iga Swiatek in the last eight, who just demolished Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0.
It will be a huge task. But the Czech has dropped just one set all tournament and carries the experience of being a Grand Slam champion. She is well-suited to the clay and her left-handed variety poses significant challenges to all her opponents.
This match-up has all the ingredients to be a highly engrossing encounter.
One might even say that it is worthy of the first women’s night session of this year’s tournament. Over to you, Mauresmo.
