Evergreen Venus Williams remains in contention for a shot at a maiden French Open crown, continuing to roll back the years with a 6-3 6-1 third-round demolition of Elise Mertens.
American Williams, seeded 10th and competing in her 20th French Open, powered 22 winners and converted six of 13 break points as she picked apart the 60th-ranked Belgian in just over an hour on Friday.
Momentum appears to be building for Williams as she attempts to win a title she came closest to lifting in 2002, when she was beaten in the final by her younger sister Serena.
Williams, a seven-time grand slam singles champion who turns 37 this month, will play Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kristina Mladenovic has taken her love affair with Roland Garros to a new level, feeding off the home crowd to battle her way into the fourth round with a 7-5 4-6 8-6 victory against American Shelby Rogers.
“I have no words to describe the love I have for you,” said Mladenovic, who rallied from 5-2 down in the third set to set up a date with defending champion Garbine Muguruza on Monday.
“Honestly I went through so many emotions during this match that I don’t know what to say. Your support helps me so much. I had goosebumps.”
“Kiki! Kiki!,” the crowd chanted again in an electric atmosphere, declaring their love back to Mladenovic.
Tagged one of the pre-tournament favourites after reaching the final in Madrid and Stuttgart, the 13th seed is looking to become the first French woman since Mary Pierce in 2000 to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.
After easing past former runner-up Sara Errani in the previous round, Mladenovic knew Rogers had the weapons to bother her, the American having won their only encounter 6-1 6-1 on hardcourt.
She appeared in control when leading 40-0 on Rogers’s serve at 3-3 in the second. The American, however, relied on her perfectly-angled serve for a vital hold and took the set when the Frenchwoman scurried a forehand wide.
Still struggling on serve, Mladenovic went 5-2 down in the third under threatening skies.
“When I was on my chair at that point, I thought it was over, but you gave me strength,” she told the crowd.
The local favourite won 10 points in a row to get back into the contest and it was eventually Rogers who cracked, dropping serve in the 13th game.
Defending champion Garbine Muguruza advanced to the fourth round by beating Yulia Putintseva.
Muguruza’s 7-5 6-2 win over Kazakh Putintseva was greeted warmly by fans on the Philippe Chatrier court.
The fourth-seeded Muguruza was pushed in the first set but proved too strong to win in straight sets.
