(Paris) American Coco Gauff came from behind after a difficult first set and she eliminated Russian Mirra Andreeva in a duel between two youngsters in the third round of the women’s singles at the French Open on Saturday.
Experience finally had the last word as Gauff, 19 and last year’s French Open runner-up, posted a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 victory, punctuated by a loss winner in match point crossover.
The result ends an impressive first Grand Slam outing for the 16-year-old Russian. Earlier this week, Andreeva became the youngest player since 2005 to win a women’s singles main draw match at the French Open.
Shortly after Gauff’s victory, favorite and defending champion Iga Swiatek also earned her ticket to the fourth round with a quick 6-0, 6-0 victory in 51 minutes against China’s Xinyu Wang.
In the round of 16, Swiatek will face the winner of the duel between Canadian Bianca Andreescu and Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, whose start was scheduled for noon, Quebec time, on Saturday.
In three outings so far at Roland-Garros, Swiatek has conceded only eight games and won 19 consecutive games.
Kazakh Elena Rybakina, reigning Wimbledon champion, withdrew from the tournament before her third round match on Saturday because she is ill.
“I just wanted to give 100%, and obviously I’m far from 100%,” Rybakina said.
“If I can’t breathe, there’s no way I can even run and try to wrestle. »
The fourth seed in the women’s singles in Paris, Rybakina was due to face Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, ranked 132nd in the world, in the first match of the day on the court of the Philippe-Chatrier stadium.
The duel was scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. PST, but instead Rybakina sat behind a microphone during a press conference to explain why she was withdrawing from the second of four Grand Slam tournaments. of the season.
Speaking as if congested, Rybakina said she was feverish, hadn’t slept well the past two nights and had difficulty breathing during a Saturday warm-up session before her match. She added that a doctor told her that a virus was circulating “here in Paris”.
Rybakina’s withdrawal ensures 26-year-old Sorribes Tormo will enter the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.
Finalist at Roland-Garros against Rafael Nadal last year in Paris, Norway’s Casper Ruud came from behind to defeat China’s Zhang Zhizhen 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in a duel of the third round played on the court of the Suzanne-Lenglen stadium.
“I’m happy to have made it through the first three games. It’s difficult. There is a lot more pressure, for sure, this year compared to last year,” Ruud said.
“Last year, added the Norwegian, I could do my job in the shadows. This year, the eyes are a little more turned towards me. […] I feel the pressure is a bit different this year. »
Zhang became the first Chinese tennis player to qualify for the third round of the French Open since Kho Sin-Khie in 1937.
Zhang broke service in the opening game and won the first set, frustrating his fourth-seeded rival.
Things didn’t look set to improve for Ruud, who found himself facing a 0-40 deficit on his serve early in the second set. However, the Norwegian regained his composure and was able to win the second run.
He upped his game in the next two sets and ended the duel with a forehand parallel to his first match point.
Things were a bit less complicated for sixth-seeded Denmark’s Holger Rune, who defeated Argentina’s Genaro Alberto Olivieri, a qualifying player ranked 231st in the world, in three sets, 6-4, 6- 1, 6-3.
If they win their next match, Ruud and Rune will meet for a quarter-final face-off, some two weeks after their Italian Open semi-final meeting, which the Dane won in three rounds.
