French Open: Iga Swiatek overwhelms Coco Gauff in quarterfinal

June 7 (UPI) -- Defending champion Iga Swiatek broke Coco Gauff's serve four times, including once for match point, to eliminate the final American from 2023 French Open contention in a quarterfinal win Wednesday in Paris.

Gauff hit her final return into the net to end the 1-hour, 28-minute match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The American fired two aces and 13 winners and converted just 1 of 5 break point opportunities. She totaled 23 unforced errors.

Swiatek, the No. 1 player in the WTA singles rankings, totaled 19 winners and just 15 unforced errors in the 6-4, 6-2 victory. She won eight of the final 10 games.

"It wasn't easy," Swiatek said on the Tennis Channel broadcast. "The first set was really tight. Coco was really using the conditions. I was able to work on it and win this match. Quarterfinals are sometimes the toughest matches."

Gauff was the only American -- in the women's or men's circuit -- to reach the quarterfinals at the clay court Grand Slam. No American men advanced past the third round.

Swiatek, of Poland, will battle No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the semifinals Thursday at Roland Garros. Haddad Maia advanced with a 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win over No. 7 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia on Wednesday morning on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Haddad Maia is the first Brazilian woman to reach the French Open semifinals in the Open Era, which dates to 1968. She converted 6 of 16 break point chances and totaled 39 unforced errors, compared to Jabeur's 42, in the 2-hour, 29-minute match.

"She is one of the best players in the world, even on clay courts," Haddad Maia said of Jabeur. "I am very happy for me and my team today."

Jabeur converted 4 of 12 break point opportunities in the loss.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 43 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic will meet in the other women's semifinal. They advanced with straight-sets wins Tuesday in Paris.

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia also advanced Tuesday with quarterfinal victories. They will meet Friday in a men's semifinal.

No. 27 Alexander Zverev of Germany will battle No. 49 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in another men's quarterfinal Wednesday at Roland Garros.

No. 4 Casper Ruud of Norway will meet No. 6 Holger Rune of Denmark in the final men's quarterfinal. The winners from those matches will meet Friday in the semifinals.

Quarterfinal coverage will continue through 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday on Tennis Channel. Semifinal coverage will start at 6 a.m. Thursday on the same network.

Schedule

Wednesday

Quarterfinals from 5 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. on Tennis Channel

Thursday

Women's semifinals from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tennis Channel and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Friday

Men's semifinals from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tennis Channel and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Saturday

Women's final from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Sunday

Men's final from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock