Serena, Kenin, Gauff, Stephens reach last 16 at Roland Garros

The women's singles third round at Roland Garros featured three all-American matchups, with Serena Willams, Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff all knocking off compatriots to reach the last 16. Also advancing was a resurgent Sloane Stephens, a 2018 finalist in Paris, who beat a second consecutive seeded opponent in Karolina Muchova.

Williams was up against Danielle Collins on Friday, as she continued her quest for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title. She's now four wins away from accomplishing that historic feat after a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 victory. After trailing 4-1 in the second set, the No. 7 seed won five straight games to get off the court in straights. 

"That felt really good for me," she said of the turnaround. "Things were not going my way. It's not like she gave me those games. I had to earn it and turn it around. That was really positive for me going into the next match."

Now the highest seed left in her half of the draw, Williams faces No. 21 seed Elena Rybakina on Sunday as she bids for her first French Open quarterfinal appearance since her run to the final in 2016. A three-time champion in Paris, she last won there in 2015. Despite those statistics, and the fact that she and Victoria Azarenka are the only major-winners remaining in the bottom half, Williams knows nothing is guaranteed.  

"There's still a lot of matches, a lot of great players, as we can see," she told the press. "There's so much depth in this game now, it doesn't matter if you're playing in the first round or not, you really have to fight for every match and nothing comes easy."

Kenin, a finalist at Roland Garros just eight months ago at the rescheduled fall edition of the 2020 event, is one of three Grand Slam champions in the draw's top half, alongside Stephens and reigning French Open champ Iga Swiatek. The No. 4-seeded American won her second three-setter of the fortnight, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, over fellow American Jessica Pegula on Saturday. Next up for Kenin is Greece's Maria Sakkari, the No. 17 seed, on Monday.

By reaching the Round of 16, Kenin has notched her best result of what has been a difficult 2021 season. She entered Paris on a four-match losing streak, and had not advanced beyond the second round at any event since before the Australian Open.

"In terms of how I'm playing now, I mean, compared to this whole year and since last year [at the] French, I feel like it's some good tennis," she said. "Yeah, I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Of course it gives me confidence. I'm finally not on a one-match winning streak. Because this whole year it was like the second time I won like two matches in a row."

In the third all-U.S. matchup, Gauff took a 6-1 set over unlucky 13th seed Jennifer Brady, after which the 2020 Australian Open finalist was forced to retire with a foot injury (plantar fasciitis). The 17-year-old is through to a Grand Slam fourth round for the third time in her career, after her dazzling debut at Wimbledon in 2019 and another strong run at the 2020 Aussie Open. This time, Gauff has not dropped a set on the way.

"This is I think my second or third time in the second week of a Slam. And I will say my journey to it [this time] has probably been the most professional," she said in her post-match presser. "No unnecessary three-set matches and stuff like that. I think that you can tell that I'm improving and making smarter decisions on the court."

As the No. 24 seed, Gauff is seeded one spot higher than her next opponent, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur. Should both Gauff and Stephens win on Monday, they would face off in the quarterfinals.

Stephens has been rounding into form this spring after a slow start to the year, and she has now taken out No. 9 seed Karolina Pliskova and No. 18 Muchova in consecutive straight-set matches. With a renewed confidence, she will take on the unseeded Barbora Krejcikova in the last 16. (Krejicova also knocked off a pair of seeded players in straight sets to get there, including fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in Round 3.) It will be a third-straight Czech opponent for the American.

Stephens now has 28 career singles wins at the French Open, her most at any Slam. Her 76% win rate in Paris is also tops for her among the majors.

"I took the time to get myself together, find what makes me happy on court, and kind of find my groove back," Stephen said of her improved form. "Obviously results didn't happen right away, but I knew eventually things would connect, and it's nice that obviously since Charleston [in April] they have started to come together."

With four Americans in the fourth round, Stephens was asked about the current wave of U.S. success in the women's game. Twelve American women reached Round 2 this year in Paris (the most since 13 in 1991), and eight reached Round 3 (the most since nine in 2003). 

"I think obviously American women's tennis is in a really great place," she said. "I think we all are having good results and everyone is playing well. Obviously, you know, it's different. I think we're all friends. We're all very friendly. We all support each other. We all love seeing each other do well, which I think is really nice.

"It's great to have so many players in the Top 100, just because we're just a super-strong nation right now. I think that's also very cool, super-strong Fed Cup team. Everything that you would think of, we have, so I think that's really cool."

Elsewhere at Roland Garros, WTA doubles world No. 9 Nicole Melichar is through to both the women's doubles third round (with Demi Schuurs) and the mixed quarterfinals (with Rajeev Ram). Melichar and Ram are the last all-American team standing across all three doubles competitions. 

Three other Americans also reached Round 3 in women's doubles: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (with Swiatek), Shelby Rogers (Petra Martic) and Bernarda Pera (Magda Linette). Desirae Krawczyk, the WTA's No. 17th ranked doubles player, joins Melichar and Ram in the mixed quarterfinals with Britain's Joe Salisbury.

The Roland Garros wheelchair competition began on Friday in Paris, while the junior singles event is set to kick off on Sunday. For more from the French Open, including complete draws, scores, and the daily order of play, visit the tournament's official website.