Khachanov and Pavlyuchenkova reach the final eight

On a sunny Sunday at Roland Garros, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova persevered to advance to the French Open quarterfinals for the first time since her runner-up performance two years ago, and fellow Russian Karen Khachanov also battled his way through.

Due to a knee injury, Pavlyuchenkova missed the 2017 competition as well as the second half of the season.

She entered the event having lost in three sets in her previous two matches. Pavlyuchenkova was defeated by Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the 2021 championship match.

Elise Mertens, the 28th seed, gave her another challenge, but she came back from a set and a break down to win 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 in just over three hours.

The lowest-ranked quarterfinalist at the French Open during the Open Era is Pavlyuchenkova, who has dropped to world number 333 after being forced to quit competing entirely for about five months last year.