Roland Garros quarter-finals: Top seeds shine at the 2025 French Open
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
Carlos Alcaraz aiming for third clay-court title
Carlos Alcaraz booked his spot in the last eight of the French Open by taking down American Ben Shelton in four sets, 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in a lively contest that lasted three hours and 19 minutes.
The victory over Shelton marked the Spaniard’s 100th clay-court win of his career and saw him become the first man born after 2000 to win 100 matches on the surface. In the Open Era, Alcaraz now has the third-best winning percentage for players who have played 100+ matches on clay (100-19), only behind Rafael Nadal (484-51) and Bjorn Borg (285-46).
Tommy Paul seeking to make history
Tommy Paul secured a commanding victory over Alexei Popyrin on Sunday to proceed to the quarter-final. He brought an end to the match in just one hour and 51 minutes, showcasing his dominance over the Australian with a straight sets victory 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Paul arrived in the French capital with a 5-6 record but has improved to 9-6 ahead of his first quarter-final at Roland Garros. The 28-year-old is now the first American male player to reach the quarter-final of the French Open in 22 years, and the only active American to feature in the last eight on all three surfaces following his 2024 Australian Open semi-final and 2024 Wimbledon runs.
Lorenzo Musetti triumphs in top-10 battle
Lorenzo Musetti locked in his spot in the last eight by claiming the first top 10 win of his Grand Slam career after overcoming 10th seed Holger Rune 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night. That result saw Musetti become the 10th Italian male to reach the quarter-final at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
Having finished as the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Monte Carlo, as well as reaching the semi-finals in Madrid and Rome, the number eight seed has now improved his record on the dirt to 17-3. Musetti will face a familiar foe in Frances Tiafoe in the semis, and while the American holds the advantage with four wins, two of the Italian’s three victories have come on clay.
Frances Tiafoe reaches first French Open quarter-final
Frances Tiafoe became the second American to earn a spot in the last eight by defeating German world number 66 Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(7/4) in the Round of 16. He is now set to feature in his first-ever French Open quarter-final, and it will also be his first ATP last-eight appearance since March in Houston.
Heading to the French capital, Tiafoe had failed to win four matches in a row all year, but he has now done it on one of the grandest stages of all, in a best-of-five format, and without dropping a single set. Following Tommy Paul’s victory earlier in the day, Tiafoe and Paul are now the first American male duo to reach the last eight at Roland Garros since Pete Sampras and Jim Courier in 1996.
Aryna Sabalenka into another Grand Slam last eight
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame a shaky start to overcome 16th-seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to progress to the quarter-final. She is now the first female player to reach 10 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals since Serena Williams did so between 2014 and 2017.
The world number one has more straight-set wins in 2025 than any other player and looks set to make a run at her first-ever French Open title. The Belarusian will face Zheng Qinwen in the next round and will be out for revenge, having lost to the Chinese star for the first time in seven meetings at the Italian Open in the build-up to Roland Garros.
Zheng Qinwen battles past Samsonova
Zheng Qinwen recorded her best result since winning Olympic gold on the Paris clay last year by securing victory over Russia’s Luidmila Samsonova, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, in a battle that lasted just shy of three hours. The 22-year-old debuted at Roland Garros in 2022, where she pushed eventual champion Iga Swiatek in a hard-fought fourth-round match that ended 6-7, 6-0, 6-2.
The number eight seed will now feature in her first-ever French Open quarter-final and has won 10 straight matches at the Roland Garros site since the Olympic Games. She is also just the second Chinese player in the Open Era to reach the quarter-final of this competition, following Li Na back in 2011.
Elina Svitolina causes biggest Round of 16 upset
Elina Svitolina defied the odds by saving three match points before overcoming last year’s runner-up Jamine Paolini to secure her place in the quarter-final of the French Open on Sunday. After dropping the first set, the 30-year-old came storming back to upset the number four seed 4-6, 7-6(8/6), 6-1.
The number 13 seed’s victory over Paolini takes her record on the clay to 18-2 in 2025 and marks her 13th Grand Slam quarter-final berth, fifth at the French Open and fifth since returning to the court following maternity leave in 2023. She is now aiming for a maiden semi-final in this competition, having bowed out at this stage in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023.
Our Elina Svitolina vs Iga Swiatek prediction is now online, so be sure to check it out ahead of this crucial matchup.
Iga Swiatek survives last 16 scare to progress to quarter-final
Iga Swiatek has been struggling to find her best form and has not reached a final since winning the title last year. However, the four-time French Open champion showed her class in the Round of 16 when she rallied from a set and 2-0 down in the second to oust Elena Rybakina 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The number five seed is now riding an astonishing 25-match win streak at the French Open and holds a remarkable win/loss record of 39-2 in the tournament. The Pole is looking to become the first woman to win four consecutive Roland Garros titles since the legendary Suzanne Lenglen over a decade ago.
