Paris — Coco Gauff reached the French Open quarter-finals for a third successive year on Monday with a 7-5 6-2 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to set up a possible clash with world number one Iga Swiatek.
Gauff, the US sixth seed, was defeated by Swiatek in the 2022 final at Roland Garros.
On Monday, she endured a rollercoaster of a first set against her Slovakian opponent who was in the second week of a grand slam for the first time.
The 19-year-old American let slip a 5-2 lead to be pinned back to 5-5 before steadying herself.
She then handed back an early break in the second set before stretching out to another convincing 5-2 lead and serving out the win.
Swiatek, bidding to be the first back-to-back champion in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007, faces Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine later Monday.
AFP