But after her unscripted appeal to the Paris public to refrain from crying out during rallies, which followed a nail-biting victory from match point down against Naomi Osaka two days ago, Swiatek could have been forgiven for wondering how she would be received as she stepped on to Court Philippe Chatrier to face Marie Bouzkova.

In a week when crowd behaviour at Roland Garros has come under intense scrutiny, the top seed’s words seemed as bold as her tennis, but any fears she may have harboured over the consequences of speaking out were immediately allayed. Swiatek was greeted by a roar of approval and enjoyed warm support throughout as she marked her 23rd birthday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Bouzkova, before the stadium treated her to a chorus of Happy Birthday. 

Evidently there are no hard feelings.

“I enjoyed playing today,” Swiatek, who notably enjoyed respectful silence as she went about her business, told Fabrice Santoro in her on-court interview. 

“Marie is a difficult player, because she’s really good at defence, every ball will come back. I really wanted to be patient and solid, and not rush it. I’m happy at the end that I did that.”

It was a predictably challenging afternoon for Bouzkova, who recognised the futility of trying to contain Swiatek’s aggression in the baseline exchanges and tailored her tactics accordingly. There were signs of promise for the 25-year-old when she ventured to the net in the early stages, while her intelligent variations of height and spin contributed to an unexpected dip from Swiatek late in the first set. 

Ultimately, though, Bouzkova lacked the brute force to trouble the defending champion as Osaka had done, Swiatek’s depth and weight of shot pinning her to the baseline, where she spent much of the afternoon scurrying fruitlessly from corner to corner. With Swiatek stepping into her returns, the Czech won less than a third of her second serve points, while the Pole’s superior firepower yielded 34 winners – exactly double Bouzkova’s total. After the heightened emotions of her previous match, following which TV cameras captured Swiatek wiping away tears as she lay on a gym mat, it was no doubt the kind of relatively straightforward afternoon she needed.

“Maybe I was crying because there are cameras in the gym,” quipped Swiatek, who took advantage of the inclement weather in Paris to enjoy a rest day. 

“[I was] just overwhelmed with emotions, I honestly thought that I’m going to be out of the tournament, and even though I felt something on the court, it kind of hit me after. 

“I was happy that I won, but I still felt like I was really on the edge, so I just cried.”

There was much mirth on court afterwards when Swiatek, who will face Anastasia Potapova in the last 16, was unable to recall the name of the park she visited on her day off, sparking an off-mic conversation with Santoro and some helpful suggestions from the crowd. No fan of uncertainty, Swiatek later took to social media to offer clarification: “National Estate of Saint-Cloud,” she confirmed on X, shortly after tournament organisers had presented her with a large cake.

Elsewhere, Ons Jabeur celebrated with uncharacteristic gusto after defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to reach the second week in Paris for a fourth time in five years. Jabeur, seeded eighth, will now meet Clara Tauson for the first time after the 21-year-old Dane beat former finalist Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-5. 

“Just reminding everyone that I’m still here,” said Jabeur, who saved a set point in the second set. “It’s also nice to prove for myself, because I’ve been in a bad place for months, trying to gain back my confidence.”

Coco Gauff, the third seed, remains on course for a projected semi-final meeting with Swiatek, easing past Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-4. The US Open champion will now face Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 winner over Liudmila Samsonova, the 17th seed.

“I love the courts here,” said the 51st-ranked Cocciaretto. “It reminds me a lot of the courts where I was born. I have very good memories of when I was a kid, watching on TV all the Italian players that were playing Roland Garros. Italians, we were born on clay.”

The most emotional scenes of the day came on Court Simmone-Mathieu, where Olga Danilovic, a 23-year-old qualifier from Serbia, showed extraordinary resilience to defeat Donna Vekic 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8). Danilovic, who has already claimed notable wins over Martina Trevisan and Danielle Collins, recovered from 6-2 down in the decisive tiebreak after Vekic had twice served for the match.

“I don’t know how I won this match, I was down so many times,” said Danilovic, overwhelmed by emotion, after reaching the second week of a major for the first time. 

“Yesterday I finished so late, 6.30[pm], and I got the time for today ,and it was 11am. I knew that I had to put myself together to sleep as much as I can, just to try to play. 

“But I practise for these kinds of moments. When they come, I really want to take the best out of them, just enjoy being here and enjoy suffering as well. In tennis, at the end, sometimes you really need to suffer, like I did today.”

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