Media365
Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva secured their spots in the French Open quarterfinals with hard-fought victories in Paris on Monday. Second-seeded Gauff defeated No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0, 7-5, while sixth-ranked Andreeva overcame No. 17 Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-5.Gauff, the 21-year-old American, completed her match in 1 hour and 22 minutes to advance to her fifth consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal. She dominated the first set before withstanding a stronger challenge in the second.Andreeva, at 18 years old, made history by becoming the youngest player to reach back-to-back quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis in 1997-98. She has maintained impressive form, not dropping a set or conceding more than five games in any set during her tournament run.Gauff achieved another milestone, becoming the fourth-youngest player in the Open Era to reach five straight quarterfinals at the French Open. She joins an elite group including Martina Hingis, Stefanie Graf, and Conchita Martínez.
The American’s journey at Roland Garros began with a second-round exit to Martina Trevisan in 2020, but she has reached at least the quarterfinals every year since, including a Grand Slam final appearance in 2022.This marks Gauff’s ninth major quarterfinal overall. She has shown consistent form this season with a 13-5 record on hard courts and is now 15-3 on clay after reaching finals in Madrid and Rome.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?In her match against Alexandrova, Gauff dominated the opening set, with her opponent committing 15 unforced errors against only three winners. Alexandrova won just five points in the first five games, though Gauff needed seven deuces in the sixth game before securing the set.The second set proved more competitive as Alexandrova raised her level and recovered from a break down. However, Gauff finished strong, winning 12 of the final 16 points.Despite some challenges with her forehand and facing break points in the fourth game, Gauff secured a crucial break for 4-3 with two backhand winners. Although Alexandrova fought back with impressive forehands, she couldn’t capitalize on Gauff’s double faults at 5-4.Gauff now holds a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over Alexandrova and will face either No. 7 seed Madison Keys or Hailey Baptiste in her quest for a fifth Grand Slam semifinal.Andreeva will continue her campaign against either No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula or wild card Lois Boisson in the quarterfinals.
