PARIS – American teenager Coco Gauff reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a crushing 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the fourth round of the French Open.
Gauff, 17, capitalised on a nervous start by Jabeur and never let her opponent off the hook in a clinical display.
Jabeur, a former junior French Open champion, like Gauff, tried to mix things up with her trademark drop shots, but nothing could disrupt her opponent’s flow.
Gauff wrapped up the win in less than an hour on her fourth match point and is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
She will face Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who swept American Sloane Stephens aside 6-2, 6-0 for a place in the semis.
“It means a lot to me, especially as I have lost in the fourth round a couple of times, so it feels good to get over that hurdle,” 24th seed Gauff told reporters. “Today, I played probably my best match so far in the tournament.”
Gauff looked supremely composed throughout and her serving would have done justice to her idol Serena Williams.
She served no double-faults and such was the accuracy and power of her serve that Jabeur won only nine points off it.
(Reuters)
