Anastasia Potapova has dumped Coco Gauff out of the French Open after battling back from a set down to win a marathon third round clash on Saturday.
The Russian-born Austrian produced some of her best shot-making during the two-and-a-half-hour marathon to prevail 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4. The clash was as much of a test of Potapova’s mentality as it was of her physicality. After dropping the opening set, she then lost a 5-2 lead in the second and was down 1-3 in the third. However, in the last two sets she managed to fight back and produce one of the biggest shocks in the women’s draw so far this year.
“I’m cramping a little bit, but it’s okay. I mean, I’m going to get better. It’s all good,” Potapova said after her marathon win.
“What a fight. I don’t have any words now. I’m extremely happy and the fight that we had together showed both of us.
“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much. I’m unbelievably proud of myself as well that I stayed there, that I was fighting for the last point.”
It is only the second time Potapova has reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam event after previously doing so at Roland Garros two years ago. However, Gauff is her ninth win over a top 10 player and second this season on the clay. She also beat Elena Rybakina in Madrid.
“I’ve had a few before as well, but for sure it’s up there,” she replied when asked if beating Gauff was the biggest win of her career.
“I would put it in the top three for sure.”
The shock victory marks Gauff’s earliest exit from the tournament since 2020, when she was beaten in the second round on her main draw debut. She was seeking to win her 30th match in Paris before her 23rd birthday, which is something that has yet to be achieved by an American woman in the Open Era.
Potapova is the first player representing Austria to beat a defending champion at a major event. She switched her allegiance last December and was living in Vienna prior to the change.
In the fourth round, Potapova will play Anna Kalinskaya, whose best Grand Slam result was a run to the quarter-finals of the 2024 Australian Open. The winner of this match will then play either home player Diane Parry or qualifier Maja Chwalińska for a place in the semi-finals.
Out of the top six seeded players in this year’s draw, only Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are still in contention of winning the title.
