2023-06-06 22:03:10
World number one Iga Swiatek will face sixth seed Coco Gauff in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday, in what is a rematch of last year’s final.
Poland’s Swiatek, a two-time champion in Paris, has won all six of her previous meetings with American Gauff.
The winner will face either Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia or Tunisia’s Our Jabeur in the semi-finals.
In the men’s draw, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune will meet in a replay of last year’s quarter-finals.
Fourth seed Ruud, runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022, will play Danish sixth seed Rune in the night session from 19:15 BST.
The winner will play either former world number two Alexander Zverev or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the semi-finals.
Top seed and three-time champion Alfie Hewett faces his doubles partner and fellow Briton Gordon Reid in the wheelchair men’s singles quarter-finals, before they pair up in the last eight for a match once morest France’s Frederic Cattaneo and American partner Casey Ratzlaff.
In the quad wheelchair singles, Britain’s Andy Lapthorne will face American David Wagner for a place in the semi-finals.
‘This is a totally different year’
Swiatek underlined her dominance on the WTA Tour last year when she swept Gauff aside in last year’s Roland Garros final.
Gauff was left in tears following losing her first major singles final, with Swiatek registering an emphatic 6-1 6-3 win to lift the trophy for a second time in three years.
Swiatek has picked up where she left off – she has yet to drop a set in Paris this year, with four of her seven set wins being by a 6-0 scoreline.
However, the 22-year-old says that last year’s final will have little influence on her preparations.
“I think finals have kind of different rules,” she said following her quarter-final win over Lesia Tsurenko, who retired with injury.
“Sometimes these matches are a little bit different than the other rounds that we play during the tournament because of the pressure and everything that’s going on.
“This is a totally different year, [a] totally different tournament. I have to be ready, regardless of what happened last year.”
Gauff, 19, is not fixating on 2022 either and expects to compete fiercely with Swiatek.
“I’m the type of mentality, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,” she said. “I think also, if you want to improve, you have to play the best.
“The way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve.
“I think it would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it.”
Rune aiming for less drama once morest Ruud
Ruud and Rune met in the quarter-finals of last year’s French Open in a tense encounter.
Ruud ground out a four-set victory over Denmark’s Rune but the two had a frosty handshake at the net, with Ruud later accusing Rune of yelling in his face in the locker room – which Rune denied.
The two met at the Italian Open in May and shared a warmer handshake following Rune registered his first win over US Open finalist Ruud in five meetings.
“Obviously there was drama last year and I hope we can make less drama this year,” said Rune.
“He’s a good player. I respect him. There’s no problem. We’re good.
“[It] should be a match without problems, hopefully.”
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