Second seed Coco Gauff surged into the French Open quarter-finals on Monday, dismantling Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0, 7-5 to remain firmly heading in the right direction for her first title in Paris.
The American world No. 2 appeared untouchable early, racing to a 5-0 lead with three consecutive breaks in simply quarter-hour. But Alexandrova discovered her footing within the second set, forcing Gauff to boost her stage.
“I thought I played great overall,” Gauff mentioned. “She definitely stepped it up in the second, but I’m really comfortable on clay – I move well, slide well, and physically I think I do better than most.”
Still in search of her maiden Roland Garros title after a runner-up end in 2022 and a semifinal look final 12 months, the 21-year-old is displaying the poise of a critical contender.
Gauff had Alexandrova on the run all through the baseline exchanges, with the 30-year-old, chasing her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, managing simply 5 factors via the opening stretch.
Though Gauff gave up 5 break factors within the sixth recreation, she saved all of them to seal her first bagel of the event. Alexandrova lastly held serve to open the second set.
Unforced errors started creeping into Gauff’s recreation because the Russian mounted a stronger problem. Gauff, the youngest American to achieve the fourth spherical at seven consecutive Grand Slams since Venus Williams (1997-1999), broke for a 4-3 lead – however Alexandrova hit again instantly and edged forward 5-4 as Gauff double-faulted twice underneath strain.
Still, the second seed held her nerve, broke again, and closed out the match on serve.
Gauff will subsequent face the winner of the all-American fourth-round conflict between Madison Keys and Hailey Baptiste.
Source: www.dailysabah.com