Sports NEWS

Alex Eala guns for twin victories Monday night to follow up her strong start at the French Open Juniors Championships over the weekend.

Twelve-time champion Rafael Nadal breezed into his 14th Roland Garros quarter-final on Sunday as Dominic Thiem survived an epic five-setter and Alexander Zverev stunned the coronavirus-affected tournament by admitting he played despite being sick and was struggling to breathe.

Alex Eala bucked a slow start before besting Natalia Szabanin of Hungary, 6-4, 6-1, in the opening round of the French Open Juniors Championships on Sunday (early Monday in Manila).

Novak Djokovic demolished Colombian lucky loser Daniel Galan to reach the Roland Garros last 16 for a record-equalling 11th successive year on Saturday as unheralded Daniel Altmaier struck another blow for the underdogs.

Novak Djokovic, who was likened to a snake by his vanquished first round Roland Garros opponent, tackles spear-fishing fan Ricardas Berankis on Thursday for a place in the last 32.

Former champion Simona Halep arrives at the rescheduled French Open as the player to beat in a women's draw missing title holder Ashleigh Barty and recent US Open winner Naomi Osaka, two of the world's top three.

Rafael Nadal warned he knew how to fix his errors before his French Open title defense after crashing in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters on Saturday, the final warm-up before Roland Garros.

World number one Ashleigh Barty announced Tuesday she will not defend her French Open crown, citing the coronavirus fears that also prompted her and several other top players to withdraw from the US Open.