French Open Lookahead: Gauff, 17, Seeks First Slam Semifinal

Coco Gauff looks to take the next step in her rapid rise when she faces Barbora Krejcikova in the first Grand Slam quarterfinal for both. Gauff, a 17-year-old American, can become the youngest woman in the semifinals at any major tournament since 2006 with a victory.

She is seeded 24th. If Gauff wins, she will be the youngest American woman to reach the final four in Paris since Jennifer Capriati was 14 in 1990. Krejcikova is a 25-year-old from the Czech Republic who is ranked 33rd and narrowly missed out on being seeded at Roland Garros.

Gauff is playing in her seventh Grand Slam tournament; Krejcikova in her fifth. The day's second women's quarterfinal at Court Philippe Chatrier is 2020 champion Iga Swiatek against 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari, who is making her Slam quarterfinal debut. In the men's quarterfinals, 13-time champion Rafael Nadal faces No. 10 seed Diego Schwartzman, before No. 1 Novak Djokovic meets No. 9 Matteo Berrettini at night.

That will be the first night session of this year's tournament with fans allowed because a coronavirus curfew that has required spectators to clear out by 9 p.m. now will take effect two hours later.

June 08, 2021