French Open 2017: Alize Cornet ousts Agnieszka Radwanska, to face compatriot Caroline Garcia in last-16

Paris: Ninth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland was knocked out of the French Open after losing to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-1 in the third round. Radwanska had won seven of their eight previous matches, including the only one on clay — at the French Open nine years ago — but was never in contention this time. [caption id=“attachment_3513683” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Alize Cornet clenches her fist after defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in their third round match. AP[/caption] Cornet’s only moment of trouble came from a difficult bounce of the ball as it flew under her racket at 30-15 in the final game. She won the next point to set up a match point, but wasted it when her drop shot sank into the net. Cornet punched the air with delight after sealing victory on her next chance with a clipped backhand at the net. “You work all year for moments like this,” said Cornet, who was tearful in her interview on court. “I couldn’t dream of a better scenario. I feel so good on this center court.” Cornet has never been further than that in Grand Slam tournaments. Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei’s surprise French Open run ended in the third round on Saturday after a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 defeat to French 28th seed Caroline Garcia. Hsieh, looking to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for just the second time, led 3-1 in the final set before Garcia reeled off four games on the trot. But the Frenchwoman failed to close it out initially, with Hsieh then serving for the match at 6-5. The world number 109 faltered as well though, allowing Garcia to eventually prevail after two hours and 39 minutes. The 23-year-old will meet unseeded compatriot Alize Cornet for a place in the quarter-finals, guaranteeing France a player in the last eight of the women’s draw for the first time since 2011. In the men’s side, Marin Cilic moved into the fourth round after swatting aside Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. The seventh-seeded Croat dropped his opening service game, and then won eight straight games to take complete control against Lopez. The 35-year-old Lopez had beaten Cilic twice before on clay — his only wins against him — but never looked in contention on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Cilic took the second set when he broke Lopez to love and served out the match to win in 1 hour, 47 minutes. “My return was working extremely well today,” said Cilic, who had eight aces. The 2014 U.S. Open champion next faces either Britain’s Kyle Edmund or big-serving South African Kevin Anderson. With inputs from AFP and AP