Looking back on Day 10 yesterday of this year’s French Open is the 2nd women’s quarter-Final tie also at Court Philippe-Chatrier in an All-American contest between youngster Coco Gauff v 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens. These two players played really well that went all the way in the opening set spell. However, it was Gauff who shut down Stephens’s 1st set resurgence before she proved too good to pull off in the end; 7-5, 6-2.
It’s not the exit Stephens wanted where she made up some lost time that helped close the gap towards a late chance to steal the opening set lead. Unfortunately, Stephens just couldn’t have the firepower needed to get past her QF opponent where poor starts gave her a lot of catch-up work before she fell way behind with no other way back ever since. This was her first grand slam Quarter-Final appearance since 2019 and her 3rd French Open finals spell here where she had a great run in the lead up beforehand on the clay surface. But she will need to continue building on that consistency if Stephens wants a fourth semi-finals grand slam appearance for the first time in four years at Wimbledon in a few weeks’ time.
And congratulations to 18-year-old Gauff with the win where she will face Italian Martina Trevisian in the semi-final tomorrow on Day 12. She was just outstanding against a player who has more experience alongside a US Open title in Sloane Stephens. The resilience and patience shown was there when Gauff fired off, responded and executed well with the opening set lead; she then went full on and extended her winning margin that sums up her easy afternoon in the office. It’s her first grand slam semi-final appearance as she will keep an eye on the other Quarter-Final matches today before her next big test tomorrow, especially when looking at potential final opponent in World No.1 Iga Swiatek from Poland.
