Iga Swiatek, who earlier last week won her 30th straight match after defeating Alison Riske in the second round, knows it’s inevitable.

“I’m ready for it, honestly,” she told reporters. “I was saying from the beginning that for sure I’m going to reach a point where I’m going to lose a match, and it’s pretty normal. I have been losing matches in tennis for a long time.

“For sure the things we are doing right now are pretty extraordinary but I know in tennis that only one person wins at the end. I will be OK with that.”

A match later, Swiatek was leading Danka Kovinic 6-3, 4-1 when her forehand suddenly went missing. Kovinic, breaking Swiatek’s serve back-to-back and employing several disarming drop shots, won four straight games and those watching could begin to imagine the end Swiatek foretold.

French Open: Scores | Order of play | Draw

That was when the World No.1 accessed the vault of good feelings she’s generated since winning the title in Dubai. She won the last three games, and her streak now stands at an imposing 31. That sets up Monday’s Round of 16 Generation Z matchup with the ascendant Zheng Qinwen, who is 19 and playing in her first French Open. Swiatek? She turns 21 on the last day of May.

Swiatek, longest win streaks

WTA

This could be the first meeting of many.

“I’m not really familiar, honestly,” Swiatek said of Zheng. “But I have heard some other players talking about her. I’m sure that she’s in the right place for her to be, because she’s playing really well. Even when she lost some matches, people were really telling that she has a talent.”

On Monday, it will be 103 days since Swiatek lost to Jelena Ostapenko – in a third-set tiebreak – in the Round of 16 in Dubai. Going back to the same round at Indian Wells, Swiatek has won an astounding 44 of 45 sets. With a victory against Zheng, Swiatek would equal the third-longest streak this century, 32 by Justine Henin in 2008. Swiatek is now an extraordinary 17-2 at Roland Garros, a winning percentage of 89.5 that has only been bested by players named Court, Evert and Graf.

And Swiatek is the only Hologic WTA Tour Top 10 player remaining in the second week.

Zheng, meanwhile, was a 6-0, 3-0 winner when Alize Cornet retired with an abductor muscle injury. All Zheng has done in the past two rounds is beat a Frenchwoman on France’s biggest stage – and send home 2018 French Open champion Simona Halep.

To put this match in context, it is only Zheng’s sixth at the main-draw Grand Slam level. Back in January, she played a $60,000 ITF event – and won. She came into Roland Garros with a single win on clay this year, against Sloane Stephens in Charleston, and needed a wildcard to compete in Madrid. She’s currently ranked No.74, but her live ranking has already risen into the mid-50s, which will allow her to enter most tournaments.

“Actually,” Zheng said in her post-match press conference, “I have been prepared for this match, because I really want to play against her. So I’m excited for this match.”

After watching fellow 19-year-olds such as Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez make an impact in the majors, Zheng seems more than ready for her opportunity.

“The different is the result and the ranking,” she said. “Of course I see they are all in front of me. In that moment I was inside like rush. But I know what I can do and I have to be patient and to wait the moment to come.”

Other scheduled matches Monday

No.11 Jessica Pegula versus Irina-Camelia Begu

Pegula, the highest seed left in the top half after Swiatek, was a 6-1, 7-6 (2) winner over No.24 Tamara Zidansek, a semifinalist here last year. It’s the best career effort in Paris for the Madrid finalist.

Pegula is one of five Americans – along with Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff  and Sloane Stephens – to reach the fourth round. It's the first time since 2003 that this has happened at Roland Garros.

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“I’m really happy to be here, especially at the French Open where maybe a lot of people didn’t think I would play as well,” Pegula said. “But I think Madrid gave me a lot of confidence and just finding my game on clay and just being so much smarter out there. I definitely thought I had a good chance to go deep in this tournament.”

Begu dispatched French wildcard Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-4, equaling her best Grand Slam results, at the 2015 Australian Open and 2016 French Open. The 31-year-old Romanian is ranked No.63 but holds a 2-0 head-to-head edge over Pegula, most recently, the second Melbourne 250 in January, with a first-round 7-6 (6), 6-3 win.

No.22 Madison Keys versus No.29 Veronika Kudermetova

Keys knocked out No.16 Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-3) with a decisive super-tiebreak. This is the 27-year-old’s 10th appearance at Roland Garros, where her best effort is 2018’s semifinals.

“It means the world to me,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “Growing up, we always dream of being in these big tournaments and doing well in them. So being in the second week means so much and I’m so happy I get to stay in Paris a little bit longer.”

Kudermetova was leading 6-3, 2-1 when No.3 Paula Badosa retired with a right knee injury. It was Kudermetova’s fourth Top 5 victory and the first time in 13 appearances that Kudermetova has advanced to the second week of a major.

This is a first-time match.

No.20 Daria Kasatkina versus No.28 Camila Giorgi

Through three rounds, Kasatkina has dropped the fewest games (10).

“It’s tough if you win 7-6 in the third from maybe match point or something, it’s tough physically, and mentally – it’s killing you,” she said after defeating Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-2. “I’m happy that I can keep my fuel still inside.”

Giorgi upset No.7 Aryna Sabalenka 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, breaking her serve the last six times. Hard to believe Giorgi entered Roland Garros with a seven-match losing streak, excluding Billie Jean King Cup.

Kasatkina won their only meeting, two years ago in the Lyon quarterfinals in three sets.