As was drawn, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek will play each other for a semi-final spot at Roland Garros. The sixth seed and the top seed won their respective fourth-round matches on Monday evening to set up a repeat of their 2022 finale.
Gauff was the first to make it to the quarters. The American defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 in 91 minutes. The 19-year-old led the Slovakian 5-2 in the first set and served for the set twice but dropped her serve both times. At five-all, Gauff broke Schmiedlova for the third time and this time, consolidated the break by securing the set. The second set followed on similar lines as the first although both Gauff and Schmiedlova traded breaks at the start of the set before Gauff secured a couple of more breaks. This time, she had a chance to serve for the match in the eighth game. Unlike in the first set, there were no comebacks from her 28-year-old opponent and the teen was able to get into the quarters.
Roland Garros: Will Coco Gauff be 7th time lucky against Iga Swiatek?
Gauff had five more winners to Schmiedlova’s 17. She also finished with 22 unforced errors to the latter’s 26. This is the third consecutive time Gauff’s made it to the quarter-finals of the French Major.
Meanwhile, Swiatek didn’t get to play a completed match in her round-of-16 clash against Lesia Tsurenko. The Pole led the Ukrainian 5-1 in the opening set before the latter decided to continue playing on account of injury. The defending champion in the French capital later posted a picture on Twitter and commented, “Get well soon Lesia!”
The Roland Garros quarters will be the seventh time Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek will face-off against each other. Swiatek’s won all six of their previous matches including one played this year, at the Dubai Open. The 22-year-old’s also made it this far in the Slam after having lost only nine games in four rounds.