Gauff edges teen battle with Andreeva to succeed in French Open final 16
The 16-year-old Andreeva had been on a run at Roland Garros with slight echoes of Emma Raducanu on the US Open in 2021, after coming by means of each qualifying and the early rounds with out dropping a set.
She continued that run as she edged a decent first set on a tiebreak earlier than final yr’s event runner-up Gauff, who’s three years her senior, upped her aggression to combat again for a 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Momentum had undulated in that set from Andreeva having two possibilities for a 5-2 lead, solely to be damaged to the Russian then catching out Gauff when the American was serving for the set at 5-4.
There was a dramatic finish to the next tiebreak when Andreeva acquired a code violation for hitting her racket on the bottom earlier than rounding off the set with the very subsequent level.
Gauff, who appeared a relative veteran in distinction to her opponent who was making her Grand Slam debut, raised her stage and her rival couldn’t keep together with her. In the next two units, Andreeva managed simply eight winners and was responsible of 23 unforced errors.
Despite her exit, it has been a meteoric rise from exterior the world’s prime 300 a month in the past to encroaching into the highest 100 when the rankings are reordered subsequent week.
Afterwards, Gauff was fast to pay tribute to her opponent. She stated: “I remember I was playing here at 16 years old. She has a lot to look forward to. She has a bright future.”
Iga Swiatek, who beat Gauff within the ultimate a yr in the past, had probably the most snug of victories as she cruised previous Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0.
But the hopes of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina are over after she bowed out of the event shortly earlier than her third-round match due to sickness.
She stated: “I was not sleeping well for two days. I had fever, a headache. It’s difficult to perform, to run and even breathe. So I think that was the only right decision I could make.”