Coco Gauff Reaches Second Straight French Open Quarterfinals

PARIS — American teenager Coco Gauff hit one backhand around the net post in the first set along the way to earn a berth in the French Open quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

The 18-year-old American took over from 4-all in the opening set en route to beating No. 31 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 6-0 at Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday.

Gauff burst onto the scene at Wimbledon when she was 15 by becoming the youngest qualifier in tournament history, beating Venus Williams, and getting all the way to the fourth round.

Her first Grand Slam quarterfinal came in Paris in 2021, when she lost to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova, and now she’s made it that far again.

The 18th-seeded Gauff’s next opponent will be 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens of the United States or No. 23 Jil Teichmann of Switzerland.