Rybakina faces Ostapenko in French Open duel of hard hitters

PARIS - The French Open third round begins on Friday with top seed Aryna Sabalenka, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and four-times winner Iga Swiatek in action while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz continues his quest for a fifth Grand Slam crown.

TOP WOMENS MATCH: ELENA RYBAKINA V JELENA OSTAPENKO

Two former Grand Slam champions clash when the big-serving Rybakina takes on the big-hitting Ostapenko, who will look to improve a head-to-head record that has not gone in her favour.

Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina has a 3-2 record against 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, beating her in their last three matches.

Rybakina arrived at Roland Garros after winning the Strasbourg Open, looking back to her best in time for the major.

But Ostapenko has shown good form on clay this season too, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to win the Stuttgart Open last month.

Dangerous opponent. She hits the ball really hard, she can be very aggressive. So I will definitely need to focus a lot on my serve, be focused, be solid, patient, take the chances when I get them, Rybakina said of her Latvian opponent.

If I serve well, (if) I have a good placement, its not easy to return no matter whos on the other side.

TOP MENS MATCH: DAMIR DZUMHUR V CARLOS ALCARAZ

Dzumhur has never played Alcaraz on the ATP Tour but the pair did meet in a Challenger Tour final in 2020 where the Spaniard fought back from a set down to win the title on home turf in Barcelona.

While Alcaraz has seen his career trajectory climb steeply since, Dzumhur has had his ups and downs and sits 69th in the rankings.

The Bosnian suffered a fall during his victory over Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the previous round.

Regarding the knee, I asked