Garbine Muguruza beats Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-1
Larsson avoided the bagel, but all she was doing was delaying the inevitable. Muguruza, the former French Open champion, was far too good for her Swedish opponent. It was one of Muguruza’s best performances for a while, a reminder of just how good she can be when she’s in the mood.
Corentin Moutet is having a whale of a time against Guido Pella, the No19 seed. The French outsider leads 6-3, 6-1.
Hang on. Sloane Stephens had a grip on proceedings on Philippe-Chatrier not so long ago. The seventh seed led Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 3-0. But her Spanish opponent has only gone and won four straight games, leaving her primed to force a decider. That’s some turnaround.
Johanna Larsson has completely run out of ideas against Garbine Muguruza, whose power and accuracy are proving too much for the Swede to handle. A second-set bagel’s on the cards – unless Larsson can summon some belated defiance.
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Hugo Dellien converts that set point! Stefanos Tsitsipas is in trouble against the Bolivian, who’s battled back from a break down to win the first set 6-4. No doubt Alexander Zverev will be chuckling to himself.
A seed’s in bother on Court 7, where Guido Pella trails 6-3, 3-0 against Corentin Moutet, the world No110. Pella, seeded 19th, is being bullied by the 20-year-old Frenchman. Elsewhere Stefanos Tsitsipas’s lead has been wiped out by Hugo Dellien, who has a set point against the sixth seed…
And there’s a break for Garbine Muguruza in the first game of the second set. She can spy a place in the third round now. And so can Sloane Stephens, who leads 6-1, 3-0 on Philippe Chatrier.
Garbine Muguruza’s hitting the ball crisply, which is always a good sign. She takes the first set 6-4 off Johanna Larsson.
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Sloane Stephens has indeed motored to that first set, taking it 6-1. Sara Sorribes Tormo can start booking her flights. Elsewhere Elise Mertens, the 20th seed, is giving Diane Parry a lesson on Court 14. The Belgian leads 4-1.
The first breakthrough goes Garbine Muguruza’s way. She breaks to lead 3-2 on Suzanne-Lenglen. As for Sloane Stephens, she’s motoring towards the first set against Sara Sorribes Tormo, who’s already been broken twice.
Sloane Stephens, beaten by Simona Halep in last year’s final, is on top early on against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The American leads by a break already and she’s threatening to increase her lead on Philippe-Chatrier. Meanwhile Johanna Larsson, no mug at all, is giving Garbine Muguruza little to work with on Suzanne-Lenglen, where they remain on serve.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the sixth seed, has made a fast start against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien. The Greek’s broken in the first game.
Who knows what to expect from Garbine Muguruza these days? The Spaniard won this tournament in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, but she’s more than capable of chucking in a ridiculous early defeat at a grand slam when she’s in the mood. She’s unstoppable on her day and muck when she’s off. Here she’s up against Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, the world No37. Still on serve.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of day four of the French Open. Roger Federer’s in action later on. Swoon! But Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens and Stefanos Tsitsipas are on now, and that’s not a bad way to start.
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