French Open third seed Sabalenka out as Pavlyuchenkova powers through

Belarusian exits in three sets to No 31 seed, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0
Sabalenka still has not made a grand slam quarter-final

The lore of Aryna Sabalenka at grand slams continues to be written. The third seed and highest ranked player remaining in the draw arrived in Paris after the best clay court seasons of her life, including a title at the Madrid Open and a final in Stuttgart, but in the tournament that really, truly matters, she once again could not succeed. She was defeated 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round on Friday afternoon.

The defeat means that despite breaking into the top 15 three years ago, Sabalenka is still yet to reach the quarter-final of a grand slam and she has only reached the fourth round twice.