French Open Day 7 Showdowns: Sabalenka and Auger-Aliassime Secure Wins Amid Rain Delays

On the seventh day of the French Open, Aryna Sabalenka fought hard against Paula Badosa to secure her place in the fourth round. Felix Auger-Aliassime triumphed over Ben Shelton in a rain-delayed match. Elena Rybakina moved past Elise Mertens. Rain interrupted matches on Court Simonne-Mathieu and outer courts.

Highlights of the seventh day at the French Open on Saturday (times GMT): 1256 SABALENKA BEATS BATTLING BADOSA

World number two Aryna Sabalenka was made to fight for her place in the fourth round, coming close to dropping her first set of the tournament, but overcame Spain's Paula Badosa 7-5 6-1. Badosa broke serve three times in the opening set to lead 5-3 before Sabalenka stormed back to win four games in a row, and the Belarusian powered past her close friend in the second set.

1220 AUGER-ALIASSIME DOWNS SHELTON Canadian 21st seed Felix Auger-Aliassime won his rain-delayed third-round match with American 15th seed Ben Shelton 6-4 6-2 6-1.

Auger-Aliassime continued where he left off on Friday when he led 5-4 in the first set before rain stopped play, and will face Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16. 1116 RYBAKINA INTO FOURTH ROUND

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina reached the fourth round with a 6-4 6-2 win over Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens on Court Philippe Chatrier, despite losing serve twice in the opening set. It is the first time the Kazakh has reached the fourth round since 2021.

1100 RAIN INTERRUPTS PLAY Matches on Court Simonne-Mathieu and the outer courts was suspended due to rain.

The third-round match between seventh seed Zheng Qinwen and Russia's Elina Avanesyan on Court Simonne-Mathieu was interrupted in the final set. READ MORE:

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Play began under cloudy skies at Roland Garros, with the temperature hovering around 14 degrees Celsius. Fourth seed Elena Rybakina takes on Elise Mertens in the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier, with world number two Aryna Sabalenka taking on Paula Badosa later.