Gauff edges Jabeur to reach semis
Djokovic stages great escape, Medvedev out
PARIS: World No.3 Coco Gauff came back from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur and reach her second French Open semi-final yesterday.
Gauff, the reigning US Open champion and a former Roland Garros runner-up, rallied to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier and will face either tournament favourite Iga Swiatek or Marketa Vondrousova for a place in the final.
It will be American star Gauff’s third successive Grand Slam semi-final, after also making the last four at this year’s Australian Open.
Tunisian eighth seed Jabeur is still waiting for a maiden major title, having lost three finals and four quarter-finals.
After a nervous start when Gauff struggled to get to grips with Jabeur, the American grew in confidence in the second set and stamped her authority in the third to reach the semi-finals for the second time.
Jabeur, meanwhile, began to fade in the final set and although she saved two match points, she could not cut out her unforced errors and Gauff sealed victory on serve when the Tunisian’s volley went wide.
An injured Novak Djokovic sealed a 15th consecutive French Open quarterfinal with a thrilling comeback victory over Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round on Monday, while Daniil Medvedev became the highest seed to crash out at Roland Garros so far.
In the women’s draw, both Aryna
Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina comfortably powered into the last eight.
A limping Djokovic looked to be heading for a shock defeat when 2-1 down in sets and 4-2 behind in the fourth set, but battled back from the brink to delight the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd by winning 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 after four hours and 39 minutes.
“I was maybe three or four points away from losing this match,” the reigning champion said. “I’m not sure how I won this match.”
Djokovic narrowly avoided his earliest exit from the tournament since 2009, teeing up a rematch of last year’s final against Casper Ruud, who beat Taylor Fritz in four sets.
However, he said he was not yet 100 percent sure he would be fit enough to play today.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or after tomorrow if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play. I hope so. Let’s see what happens,” he said.
Fifth seed Medvedev suffered a four-set loss to Australia’s Alex de Minaur, starting strongly before slipping to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 defeat.
De Minaur will face Alexander Zverev in his second Slam quarter-final and first since the 2020 US Open.
Zverev won his second successive five-setter, coming from behind to beat Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in a night-session match which again finished in the early hours of the morning.
It was the second-latest finish in the tournament’s history at 1:40am, just two days after Djokovic and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti set the record.
In the women’s tournament, world No.2 Sabalenka, who was a semi-finalist in 2023 and has made at least the last four at her past six Grand Slams, proved far too strong for American 22nd seed Emma Navarro.
The Belarusian raced into the quarters, hammering 36 winners during a 6-2, 6-3 success.
Sabalenka will play 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the last eight.
Andreeva became the youngest French Open women’s quarterfinalist since 2005 with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Russian-born French player Varvara Gracheva.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, the fourth seed, saw off Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 and will next face Italian Jasmine Paolini.
RESULTS
(x denotes seeded player)
Women’s quarter-finals
Coco Gauff (USA x3) bt Ons Jabeur (TUN x8) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Fourth round
Jasmine Paolini (ITA x12) bt Elina Avanesyan (RUS) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1; Elena Rybakina (KAZ x4) bt Elina Svitolina (UKR x15) 6-4, 6-3; Mirra Andreeva (RUS) bt Varvara Gracheva (FRA) 7-5, 6-2; Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x2) bt Emma Navarro (USA x22) 6-2, 6-3
Men’s fourth round
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Francisco Cerundolo (ARG x23) 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; Casper Ruud (NOR x7) bt Taylor Fritz (USA x12) 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Alexander Zverev (GER x4) bt Holger Rune (DEN x13) 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2; Alex de Minaur (AUS x11) bt Daniil Medvedev (RUS x5) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3