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WOMEN'S DAY 6 WRAP: Gauff, Swiatek and Jabeur into last 16 in Paris

general31 May 2024 16:44| © Reuters
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American third seed Coco Gauff showed some second-set resilience in 6-2 6-4 victory over Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska on Friday to advance to the French Open fourth round and move a step closer to ending a three-year claycourt drought.

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The US Open winner, who reached the final in Paris in 2022 and last won a title on the surface in 2021, was in solid form in the first set against surprise Australian Open semifinalist Yastremska before struggling briefly in the second.

She will next face Italy's world number 51 Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

"I played her in Madrid and she plays really well from behind," Gauff said. "I knew closing the match would be difficult. I definitely could have closed it out on my serve (in the previous game)."

"The last game, she hit three or four balls on the edge of the line … it was difficult to stay focused and not get too mad. But I’m glad I was able to push through."

The Ukrainian world number 32, racing up the rankings after her career was derailed by a provisional doping ban in 2021, which was later lifted, was inconsistent with her big-hitting game as well as her serve and sent a backhand wide to give Gauff an early break.

Gauff then cruised through the set courtesy of another break as Yastremska's unforced errors piled up.

She did break Gauff repeatedly in the second set, threatening to make a game of it, with the American struggling with her first serve.

Just as Yastremska seemed to have found her range and a way back into the match, Gauff, who also had a match point at 5-2, held firm despite double-faulting in consecutive service games, to clinch it.

BIRTHDAY GIRL SWIATEK SWATS ASIDE BOUZKOVA

World number one Iga Swiatek celebrated her 23rd birthday in style with an emphatic 6-4 6-2 victory over Marie Bouzkova to move into the last 16.

Swiatek survived a major scare in the previous round when she saved a match point against Naomi Osaka before sealing a hard-fought victory, but against Bouzkova she picked apart the Czech player's serve with some precision hitting.

The defending champion showed no signs of a hangover from the three-setter with Osaka and consolidated an early break to go 3-1 up in the opening set but Bouzkova fought back from 5-2 down to give the Pole a workout.

However, Swiatek switched gears and carefully constructed her points, using the angles well to make Bouzkova run from one corner of Court Philippe-Chatrier to the other, firing 18 winners in total in the opening set.

The top seed continued to dominate in the second set as she effortlessly turned defence into offence on Bouzkova's serve, breaking twice to race into a 4-0 lead before the Czech managed to get on the board.

Bouzkova saved a match point on her serve but she only delayed the inevitable as Swiatek sealed progress with a searing winner down the line.

DANILOVIC'S FAIRYTALE RUN CONTINEUS

Qualifier Olga Danilovic hailed Novak Djokovic as "out of this planet" after reaching the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time, claiming that her record-setting Serbian compatriot doesn't receive the recognition he deserves.

Danilovic, ranked 125, needed more than three hours to defeat Croatia's Donna Vekic 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/8) in the French Open third round, playing the first match of the day at 11am.

On Thursday, she spent two and a half hours on court to see off 11th seed Danielle Collins in another three-setter which didn't finish until 6.30 pm.

The 23-year-old has already played six matches at the tournament, a gruelling effort which left her in tears during her on-court interview on Friday.

Danilovic praised the mental resilience of Djokovic for helping inspire her to a landmark appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam.

"The mentality he has, we are all seeking to have that. It's just something that is out of this planet," said Danilovic who admitted that playing with the 24-time major winner at the United Cup earlier this year had been a "bucket list moment".

"I don't know if we actually appreciate that he's the best player in the world by far. He's a very humble and nice guy, especially that he's No 1 in the world and he's, for me, the greatest of all time.

"He's really proud to represent our country, he's really open for us to talk. I come to him with some day-to-day struggles that I have on court, and he's really happy to share his thoughts with me and what he learned, what kind of mistakes he did so maybe I don't have to do them."

On Friday, the left-handed Danilovic was just two points from defeat against 40th-ranked Vekic, a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist.

Vekic served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 – holding a 30-0 lead the second time – and then led 6-2 in the final set super-tiebreak.

But Danilovic's bolder approach paid off as she hit more winners, 29 to Vekic's 15 in the deciding set.

"Those were tears of relief and happiness," Danilovic, who also made the third round in 2023 out of qualifying, said as she explained her tearful on-court interview.

"We played for three hours and eight minutes. Your heart is going to get up, because being in that level of stress for three hours and eight minutes, I don't know if it's healthy at the end of the day."

Danilovic is becoming something of a sensation of qualifying rounds at tournaments.

As a lucky loser at the 2018 River Cup in Moscow she became the first player born in the 2000s to win a WTA singles title.

VONDROUSOVA OUSTS PAQUET 

Former finalist Marketa Vondrousova overcame France's Chloe Paquet to win 6-1 6-3 and reach the last 16.

Vondrousova, who became the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon last year, was a beaten finalist at Roland Garros in 2019 and the Czech player kept alive her dream of returning to the final with her straight-sets win over the French player.

"I think she was fighting until the end. You know, the crowd was behind her, so it was tough. But overall it was a great match," Vondrousova said.

The fifth seed began strongly, breaking to love in the opening game and although Paquet responded immediately with a break of her own, Vondrousova went on to win the next five games to take the first set with ease.

Paquet, 29, had never reached the third round before and her struggles continued in the second set when Vondrousova took a 3-0 lead but the French player rallied and broke to pull it back to 4-3 down.

Vondrousova responded and broke again to move within one game of victory and although Paquet forced a break point, Vondrousova held serve and moved into the fourth round.

The Czech 24-year-old will now play Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic, who has already knocked out 11th seed Danielle Collins.

Danilovic defeated Donna Vekic when their third-round match finally got underway after rain delays on Court Simonne Mathieu, directly before Vondrousova took to the same court.

"Yeah, I saw the whole match because I was playing after them, so I saw everything," Vondrousova said.

"It was very tough, and she's a great player. I know her since we were juniors, so yeah, it's going to be very tough on clay.

"She's doing an amazing job, it's also fourth round and second week, so I think anything can happen now."

Vondrousova and Danilovic have met only once before, with the Czech player coming out on top when they faced each other at the United Cup in January.

JABEUR KNOCKS OUT FERNANDEZ

Eighth seed Ons Jabeur continued her latest bid to become the first Arab and African woman to claim a Grand Slam title with a tough 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez that put her into the fourth round.

Tunisian Jabeur has come within touching distance of Grand Slam glory in the past, reaching the last two Wimbledon finals and the 2022 US Open title clash but the 29-year-old has not been able to cross the finish line.

A third-round meeting with fellow former Flushing Meadows runner-up Fernandez represented a tricky challenge and the pair exchanged breaks midway through the opening set before Jabeur took control of the contest on serve.

With limited success when she peppered the Suzanne Lenglen surface with her trademark drop shots against quick-moving 31st seed Fernandez, Jabeur quickly found herself trailing 3-1 in the second set.

"Everybody knows Leylah, she plays very well. She's a very aggressive player," said Jabeur. "I knew that I had to finish the match before the third set and I won some points at the right moments.

"It was a bit tough on serve but I'm very happy to win."

Jabeur, a quarterfinalist here last year, took the next two games to go level, before saving a set point in a five-deuce game and eventually completed the victory with an ice-cool show in the tie break.

Up next for Jabeur is unseeded Dane Clara Tauson, who stunned  former runner-up Sofia Kenin 6-2 7-5.

COCCIARETTO CRUISES INTO LAST 16

Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 23, beat Russian 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova 7-6(4) 6-2 to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time.

“I think I played unbelievable the first game... after that I was over-thinking," Cocciaretto said.

"I said to myself: play with the heart and not with the brain... I tried to stay in the game and to fight... I’m really really happy to play in this court and be in the fourth round for the first time. It’s unbelievable for me right now.”

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