Swiatek remained on a series of 20 sets won in a row: she had not lost a single set since April 23 in the semi-finals in Stuttgart.

With this victory, the 20-year-old Polish nevertheless wins her 32nd success in a row, which makes her the third player to chain the most victories in the 21st century behind the Williams sisters (Venus 35, Serena 34) and to tied with Justine Henin.

The Polish Iga Swiatek, during her victory against the Chinese Qinwen Zheng, 6-7 (7/5), 6-0, 6-2, in the round of 16 of the Roland-Garros tournament, May 30, 2022 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

Zheng, who was participating in his very first Roland-Garros at 19, however gave the 2020 winner of the Parisian Major a hard time.

Leading 3-0 in the first set, Swiatek saw the Chinese recover at 5-5 and then force her to play a tie break after 5 unconverted set points.

The Chinese Qinwen Zheng, during the round of 16 of the Roland-Garros tournament against the Polish Iga Swiatek, May 30, 2022 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

And in the decisive game, once again overtaken by the world No.1 (5-2), Zheng chained 5 points to win after 1h22, a duration longer than most of the last matches played by the world N.1.

But then the Swiatek steamroller got going again, while her opponent, visibly weakened, had to request a medical time-out at 3-0 against her in the second set.

China's Qinwen Zheng has her back massaged during a medical timeout, during her round of 16 match against Poland's Iga Swiatek, on May 30, 2022 at the Roland-Garros tournament JULIEN DE ROSA AFP

- Stomach aches, songs and a cold shower -

Returning with a largely bandaged right thigh, Zheng, who later revealed to have also suffered from "even more debilitating" menstrual pain, did not win a single game until the third of the third set.

After getting rid of her bandage which seemed to bother her, she recovered a little but not enough to worry Swiatek again, who won after 2h45 of the match.

"I wanted to fight to the end but I no longer had the necessary energy, my stomach hurt too much, I didn't even have the strength to encourage myself anymore. (...) I didn't I couldn't show my real game today," Zheng said at a press conference.

"I'm really happy to have managed to get back into the game after a particularly frustrating first set (...) I'm really happy to still be in the tournament," said the Pole for her part just after her victory.

"In the first set, I tried different things on a technical level but it didn't work, and I felt that I was more and more tense", then explained Swiatek in a press conference, giving in passing his little thing to relax in these cases: "My mind had to be clearer (...) so I started to sing songs to myself in my head", she confided.

But in the end, "it's important to have these kind of matches (very hard fought). It's a bit like a cold shower and it shows me that I can find solutions to difficulties even after losing a set. So I think that in the end I will get something positive out of it for the future and that it will give me more confidence”, estimated the world N.1.

In the next round, Swiatek will meet American Jessica Pegula, 11th in the world and the second highest ranked player after her still in contention in a tournament that has been merciless for the Top 10 players.

© 2022 AFP