Defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy beat Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Sunday to return to the French Open quarterfinals.
The fifth-seeded Schiavone broke Jankovic to go ahead 5-4 in the third set, then served out the victory. When it ended, Schiavone reprised her post-match ritual from 2010, kneeling down and giving a kiss to the clay court.
Schiavone is the only Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title. She’s making her 43rd consecutive appearance in the main draw of a major tournament.
Next for Schiavone is a match against 14th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat No. 3 Vera Zvonareva 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2. Jankovic had reached the semifinals at Roland Garros in three of the past four years.
