Coco Gauff continued her quest for a maiden French Open title with a straight-sets win over 20th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round on Monday.
The 2022 finalist started the match clinically before being tested during her 6-0, 7-5, victory over Alexandrova, who has recorded five wins over top five players this season. Gauff produced 14 winners and broke her opponent five times. She now leads the Russian 4-1 in their head-to-head.
“It was tough,” Gauff said afterwards.
“I think the whole match I played well, to be honest.
“She stepped up her game in the second. Some balls I hit I thought I hit a good shot and she would hit a winner on the line.
“If she wins like that I can keep my head up high. Overall I thought I played great.”
Playing on Court Philippe Chatrier, the second seed got off to a dream start by winning 31 out of the first 45 points played to seal a 6-0 lead after just 28 minutes of play. It is the 10th time she has won a bagel set at a Grand Slam event in her career, according to data provided by the International Tennis Federation.
However, Gauff encountered tougher resistance in the second set as she began to produce more mistakes. Midway through she broke for a 4-3 lead but Alexandrova responded immediately to draw level in the following game. Heading into the business end, Gauff struck once again at 5-5 by breaking her rival to love for a chance to serve the match out. She sealed the victory on her second match point with a serve out wide that triggered an Alexandrova error.
Gauff is yet to drop a set in this year’s draw and has now won 14 out of the last 16 matches she has played on the clay. During this period, Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid final) and Jasmine Paolini (Rome final) were the only players to have beaten her.
Despite being only 21, Gauff has already recorded 24 main draw wins at the French Open so far in her career. It is the fifth year in a row she has reached at least the quarter-final stage.
“I move well on clay and I’m really comfortable with sliding and moving on the surface,” Gauff said of her game.
“I think that’s what my results credit to. This is the most physical surface for sure and I do well in that department.”
Gauff is aiming to become the first American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2013.
