Gauff sets up Last 8 meeting with Jabeur
Iga Swiatek is a woman on a mission, storming into the French Open quarter-finals after delivering a double-bagel to Anastasia Potapova on Sunday, while Coco Gauff limited her opponent, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, to just 3 games in total. “I felt comfortable. You just go with it because there’s no point in changing anything. You just continue what you’ve been doing, and what has been working. But, honestly, I was always focusing on the next point. I didn’t really look at what happened before, so that was probably also why I could be efficient. I’m actually happy that I could recover after the match against Naomi, because three-hour matches stay with you for a couple of days, but I felt really fresh today. There’s no need to make it worse again. It’s better to recover.”
Providing each wins their quarter-final matches on Tuesday, Swiatek and Gauff will face each other for a spot in the final. First, though, they must navigate themselves past formidable rivals, with Swiatek facing Marketta Vondrousova, who ended qualifier Olga Danilovic’s run, and Gauff taking on Ons Jabeur, a straight sets winner over Clara Tauson.
Swiatek, simply, was untouchable against Potapova, steaming to a dominant 6-0 6-0 victory in just 40 minutes, committing only 2 unforced errors in the process and, at one stage, winning 18 points ion the trot.
It was the shortest match of the 23-year old Pole’s professional career, as she exacted sweet revenge on the Russian, who had always defeated her in the Juniors. “Obviously, I had just a thought that times change a little bit, because I remember she was always the player to beat me,” Swiatek told the media later. “I don’t think I won against her, and I lost some heartbreaking matches for me.”
Potapova moved on from the juniors to rise to No 41 among Hologic WTA Tour players, and has won two tournaments, in Istanbul and Linz, but Swiatek, of course, is now the undisputed World No 1, who is poised to win her 3rd consecutive French Open title, and 4th in 5 years, if the stars should so align.
It seems so, as, on a cool, blustery day, Swiatek played with clinical intent, winning 48 of 58 points. Asked what had changed the most in the decade since Potapova had held the upper hand, Swiatek replied: “When I think about myself, I just know that my progress was, kind of, like that…”
Swiatek will face 5th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova in the quarters, after the Czech defeated Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, 6-4 6-2, in 80 minutes on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, coming from 1-4 down in the first set to end the qualifier’s excellent run. Vondrousova will have to find a way past the reigning champion if she hopes to advance.
Meanwhile, 20-year old Coco Gauff put on another strong display, winning in straight sets over Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 6-1 6-2, in just 1 hour. Gauff was ready, following Swiatek and Potapova onto Court Philippe-Chatrier. She continued her fine form with a dominant performance.
