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Martic looking for more of the same after knocking out second seed Pliskova

Pliskova's defeat has left that section of the draw wide open.

Petra Martic pulled off the biggest upset of the French Open so far by knocking out second seed Karolina Pliskova – and the Croatian is not planning on stopping there.

Pliskova arrived in Paris after winning the biggest clay-court title of her
career in Rome but it is not her best surface and the 6-3 6-3 defeat was not a
total shock given the calibre of her opponent.

Martic has had more clay-court wins than any other woman this season, winning a title in Istanbul and reaching the semi-finals in Charleston, and she used her nous to reach the fourth round here for the third time.

The 28-year-old has never been further at a grand slam, and was not getting carried away by her victory over Pliskova.

She said of the win: "For sure it was one of the bigger ones. But I have bigger goals than that, and I hope I can just continue this way."

Martic feared her career was over when she was sidelined with a back injury in 2016 and 2017 but she has hit a career-high ranking of 28 this season, and she could go higher with a good run here.

Martic finds herself in a wide open section of the draw, with one of the Croatian, Kaia Kanepi, Anastasija Sevastova and Marketa Vondrousova guaranteed to make the semi-finals.

Teenage Czech Vondrousova has had a superb season and she reached the fourth round at a slam for only the second time by beating 28th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-4.

Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova
Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova has had a superb season (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

Twelfth seed Sevastova, meanwhile, won one of the matches of the tournament so far by saving five match points on the way to a 6-7 (3) 6-4 11-9 victory over Belgian Elise Mertens.

Former champion Garbine Muguruza reached the fourth round for the sixth successive year with a 6-3 6-3 victory over ninth seed Elina Svitolina.

Muguruza, who won the title here in 2016, has a remarkable ability to find her best form at the grand slams and, after making the semi-finals last year, is again on a good run.

"I feel very good in this tournament," said the Spaniard. "I have always loved it since I was a little girl. I also love the clay court. I don't know what it is about the French Open that gives me always a nice mood and my tennis develops much better."

Last year's runner-up, Sloane Stephens, was pushed all the way by Slovenia's Polona Hercog but survived, winning 6-3 5-7 6-4.

The seventh seed served for the match in the second set and missed four match points. Hercog then recovered from 4-0 down to make the deciding set tight but Stephens held on to set up an enticing clash with Muguruza on Sunday.

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