World number one Iga Swiatek beat Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1 to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Open.
The Polish top seed, a three-time French Open champion, needed only one hour and 18 minutes to win a one-sided third-round match on her favoured surface.
Swiatek, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid last year, will face Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo next.
“Sara is a Spaniard, will have the home crowd behind her and is really solid. A fighter as well,” Swiatek said.
Sorribes Tormo beat former world number one Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7-0) 6-3.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who has made a shaky start to the season, came through 7-5 2-6 6-4 against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
Jabeur, who won the Madrid title in 2022, will face Jelena Ostapenko for a quarter-final spot after the Latvian beat Argentine qualifier Maria Carle 6-3 6-3.
Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari is also through following a 6-1 6-3 win over American Sloane Stephens.
Cornet confirms retirement after French Open
France’s Alice Cornet has announced she will retire immediately after playing at the French Open for a final time.
The 34-year-old is set to make her 20th consecutive appearance at Roland Garros next month.
Cornet holds the Open era record for consecutive Grand Slam main-draw appearances, having played at 68 consecutive majors since 2007.
She made her WTA debut aged 15 as a wildcard at the French Open in 2005 and has since won six titles over her 19-year career.
Cornet, who is currently 107th in the world, achieved a career-high ranking of 11th in 2009.
She has reached the last 16 at all four majors and achieved her best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open in 2022, when she reached the quarter-finals.
