The Latest: Defending champion Swiatek into quarterfinals

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Poland's Iga Swiatek plays a return to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk during their fourth round match on day 9, of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, Monday, June 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PARIS – The Latest on the French Open (all times local):

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10:45 p.m.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek reached the quarterfinals after beating unseeded 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round.

Kostyuk saved one match point on her second serve at 30-40 as she held in the ninth game of the second set.

That forced Swiatek to serve out the match and she clinched victory with a smart lob from the net.

Swiatek has now won 22 straight sets at Roland Garros, including her run to the title last year.

She next faces 17th-seeded Greek Maria Sakkari, who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Swiatek is also in the last eight of the women's doubles.

Kostyuk reached the third round of the Australian Open at the age of 15 on her Grand Slam debut — the youngest to go that far in 21 years — but this was her best run at any major.

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9:20 p.m.

The glare of the showcase court at the French Open can be intense, even for Rafael Nadal.

The 13-time Roland Garros champion was unhappy Monday that the stadium lights were on when he played his late-afternoon match against Jannik Sinner. Nadal said he was bothered by the combination of sunshine, shadows and the artificial lights, which were installed before last year’s tournament.

Nadal said he was told the lights were on for television.

“My answer is we used to have TV before,” Nadal said. “I saw plenty of matches here on TV, and the quality of the image was great without the lights.”

Despite the distraction, Nadal won 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals and extend his streak of sets won at Roland Garros to 35.

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7 p.m.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal beat Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals and extend his streak of sets won at Roland Garros to 35.

The 18th-seeded Sinner had a chance to become the first player since Dominic Thiem in the 2019 final to take a set off Nadal here.

But when serving for the first set at 5-4, the Italian was broken at love. He then lost the next six games to trail 4-0 in the second set.

Thiem took the second set 7-5 to level the 2019 final.

Nadal won the next two sets to clinch his 12th title here, won all 21 sets last year as he added No. 13 and has yet to drop a set this year.

The third-seeded Spaniard faces No. 10 Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals, having beaten the Argentine in the semifinals last year.

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5:25 p.m.

American Sofia Kenin has lost in the fourth round at the French Open to Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-1, 6-3.

At No. 4, Kenin was the highest-seeded player left in the tournament. She was the runner-up at Roland Garros last October, and was seeking her second major title.

Sakkari, seeded 17th, advanced to her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal and earned her sixth win against a top-20 player this year.

Kenin lost serve six times and had 32 unforced errors to 15 for the steady Sakkari.

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5 p.m.

Novak Djokovic has rallied from a two-set deficit to win for the fifth time in his career. He beat 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who retired with an injury two games from defeat in the fourth round at the French Open.

Musetti took a medical timeout after the fourth set, briefly left the court, and conceded after losing the next four games. The score was 6-7 (7), 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0. Djokovic lost only 10 points in the third set and four in the fourth, and won the final 13 games.

Seeded No. 1, Djokovic remained in contention for his second French Open title, and his 19th at a Grand Slam. He improved to 34-10 in five-setters.

The Serb advanced to the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the 15th time. He’ll next play another Italian, No. 9-seeded Matteo Berrettini, who advanced when Roger Federer withdrew.

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4:35 p.m.

Novak Djokovic won the first 16 points of the fourth set and pulled even at two sets apiece against 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at the French Open.

Musetti took the first two sets in the fourth-round match 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2). Djokovic won the next two 6-1, 6-0 while losing only 14 points.

Djokovic is seeded No. 1 and trying to overcome a two-set deficit for the fifth time in his career. He is seeking his second French Open title and his 19th at a Grand Slam.

Musetti is ranked 76th and participating in his first Grand Slam tournament. He has played only one five-setter in his career. Djokovic is 33-10 in five-setters.

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3:50 p.m.

Novak Djokovic is in trouble at the French Open after dropping the opening two sets of his fourth-round match against 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

Musetti leads 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2) in the best-of-five-set match at Court Philippe Chatrier after more than two hours of play.

Djokovic is seeded No. 1 and is trying to claim a second championship at Roland Garros and 19th Grand Slam title overall.

He had not ceded more than four games in any set in this year’s tournament until Monday. But Djokovic's game is filled with unforced errors in this match.

Musetti is ranked 76th and participating in his first Grand Slam tournament.

Djokovic never has lost to someone ranked that low in 92 previous matches at the French Open.

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1 p.m.

American teenager Coco Gauff served superbly to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ons Jabeur at the French Open.

The 17-year-old Gauff lost only nine points on her serve.

Gauff also had a quick match in the previous round. Jennifer Brady retired with an injured left foot after Gauff won the opening set.

Gauff will next face Barbora Krejcikova. She also reached reached her first quarterfinal at a major by beating 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-0.

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12:20 p.m.

Barbora Krejcikova reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament for the first time by routing 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-0.

Krejcikova saved all three break points she faced while Stephens ended up with 26 unforced errors.

Krejcikova won her first WTA title in Strasbourg in the buildup to the French Open. She reached the fourth round at Roland Garros last year.

Stephens won the U.S. Open in 2017 had her run to the final at the French Open the next year.

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10:20 a.m.

In a double battle of generations at the French Open, both Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic will take on Italian teenagers at Roland Garros on Day 9.

Nadal, a 13-time champion, is up against 18th-seeded Jannik Sinner, who is trying to reach the quarterfinals on the Parisian red clay for the second straight year in his second appearance at Roland Garros.

Djokovic's opponent, the unexperienced but highly-rated Lorenzo Musetti, is playing at a Grand Slam event for the first time. By comparison, both Djokovic and Nadal are hoping to make it to the quarterfinals of the clay-court major for the 15th time.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek has not dropped a set in her three previous matches. She takes on Marta Kostyuk for a berth in the quarterfinals. Sofia Kenin is the highest-seeded woman left in the women's draw at No. 4, and she’ll face Maria Sakkari. Seventeen-year-old Coco Gauff will bid for her first quarterfinal berth in a major event when she takes on Ons Jabeur.

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