Share

Tomljanovic downs Radwanska

Paris - Croatia's Ajla Tomljanovic has made history in the French Open on Friday by upsetting third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.

The defeat meant that the tournament's top three seeds had all been ousted inside six days, with top seed Serena Williams losing in the second round and second seed Li Na departing in the first.

It was the first Grand Slam in the Open era where the top three women seeds all failed to make the last 16.

Ranked 72nd in the world, 21-year-old Tomljanovic will next play Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, who ended the challenge of 18-year-old American wildcard Taylor Townsend 6-2, 6-2, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Fourth seed Simona Halep of Romania is the top seeded player left in the draw, having reached the third round on Thursday.

"After seeing the first two seeds go out you kinda feel like -- hey I can do that too. I grew up with these girls that were doing that," the Florida-based Tomljanovic said.

"I went out out there and I really felt that I could win. It showed and that was how I won.

"I have a fourth round next and obviously happy, but I do not want to get too happy about it either."

Tomljanovic ended 2013 ranked 78th in the world, improving from 495th - the biggest ranking improvement by any player in the top 100.

This year she lost in the third round at the Australian Open but more recently failed to qualify for the main draw at Madrid and Rome in the buildup to Roland Garros.

For Radwanska it was the first time she had failed to make it past the third round at a Grand Slam event since the 2012 French Open.

Last year she was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, a quarter-finalist at the Australian and French Opens and made the fourth round at the US Open.

Watched by Croatian 1997 French Open winner Iva Majoli, Tomljanovic quickly took control of a match played in front of a sparse centre court crowd.

She jumped out into a 5-1 before a shell-shocked Radwanska managed to break serve and get back to 5-4.

The Croatian made no mistake on serve in the following game though and an early break in the second set sent her on the way to the biggest win of her career.

While newcomer Tomljanovic was making the headlines on centre court, veteran Australian Samantha Stosur was stealthily moving through the draw out on the Suzanne Lenglen court.

The 19th seed, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2010, pulled off an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win over Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia to reach the last 16 where she will play 2012 champion Maria Sharapova if the Russian defeats Paula Ormaechea of Argentina in her third round tie later Friday.

Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, had too much firepower for the dimunitive Cibulkova, taking an early lead in the first set and staying ahead after that.

The Australian lost to Sharapova in the third round of the Madrid Masters earlier this month, having also defeated Cibulkova in the previous round.

Stosur said she would have to be playing at the level she produced at Roland Garros in 2010 to have a chance against Sharapova.

"I know there are a couple of times I have beaten her I did things a little bit different or a little bit better," she said.

"But I mean, at the end of the day ... I've got to do what I do well. Sometimes it doesn't always match up great against her if I'm not doing it well enough.

"But, you know, we have never played here, so I will take that as a good thing."

Also in action later Friday is Spanish sensation Garbine Muguruza, who defeated top seed Serena Williams in straight sets in the second round.

She goes up against Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, who defeated Venus Williams at the same stage of the tournament.

Eighth-seeded German Angelique Kerber takes on Slovak veteran Daniela Hantuchova, while fast-rising Canadian Eugenie Bouchard takes on Johanna Larsson of Sweden.

Results on Friday at the French Open, the sixth day of the season's second Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros (x denotes seeded player):

Men

Third round
Tomas Berdych (CZE x6) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x27) 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4
John Isner (USA x10) bt Tommy Robredo (ESP x17) 7-6 (15/13), 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 7-5
Ernests Gulbis (LAT x18) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE) 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Roger Federer (SUI x4) bt Dmitry Tursunov (RUS x31) 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2, 6-4
Milos Raonic (CAN x8) bt Gilles Simon (FRA x29) 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x13) bt Jerzy Janowicz (POL x22) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Marin Cilic (CRO x25) 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4

Women

Third round
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) bt Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-2, 6-4
Pauline Parmentier (FRA) bt Mona Barthel (GER) 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
Samantha Stosur (AUS x19) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x9) 6-4, 6-4
Maria Sharapova (RUS x7) bt Paula Ormaechea (ARG) 6-0, 6-0
Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x3) 6-4, 6-4
Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x14) bt Taylor Townsend (USA) 6-2, 6-2
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x18) bt Johanna Larsson (SWE) 7-5, 6-4
Angelique Kerber (GER x8) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x31) 7-5, 6-3
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1271 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1469 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2240 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE