Paris: World No. 20 Daria Kasatkina thundered past Italy's Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2 with a near flawless baseline game to reach the French Open quarterfinals for the second time in four years.
The Russian broke her opponent in the first and last game to cruise through the first set in just 41 minutes, and survived a wobble early in the second when Giorgi carved out two break points in a lengthy game that lasted almost eight minutes.
"Zero mistakes," Kasatkina said when asked about her game plan.
"Camila is a very aggressive player and it is really tough to play against her."
Kasatkina made just 10 unforced errors in the match that lasted an hour and 20 minutes, compared to her opponent's 37, while also winning all her points at the net along with 50 per cent of her break opportunities.
"The conditions today were good and a bit slower so I had a bit more time. I could manage the important points," she said on a sunny but chilly morning in Paris.
"At 2-1 on 40-15 (in the second set) I did a technical, tactical mistake. But I tried to be more focused. Zero mistakes, as I said."
Meltdown
Madison Keys totally lost control after a brilliant opening set as she crashed out with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat by Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
The 22nd seed, who was looking to be the third American into the last eight after Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff qualified on Sunday, was powerless against her 25-year-old opponent's heavy forehand.
Keys raced through a one-sided opening set and seemed to be heading for a comfortable win, but Kudermetova started playing more accurately and took command of the second on court Philippe Chatrier.
The Russian relied on her forehand to put Keys on the back foot and found herself serving for the set in no time. Keys saved six set points as Kudermetova showed signs of nerves.
A big first serve saved her some blushes on the seventh attempt and the Russian carried the momentum into the decider.
A double break gave her a 4-1 lead in just 20 minutes and she bagged the next two games easily to wrap it up when Keys made a forehand unforced error.
"I tried to trust myself, to believe. That was my key," said the 29th seeded Kudermetova, who will face Kasaktina in her first quarterfinal appearance in the singles draw at a major.
