PARIS – Coco Gauff got off to a great start on Saturday in the third round of the French opening, leading 12 of his first 15 points 3-0 just 10 minutes later. The rest of the opening set went smoothly too.
But things got far more tough from there, with the 2023 US Open champion coming back in the right direction and only two points from reaching the second week of the fifth straight year, beating Marie Buzkova 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Gauff, 21, from Florida, finished second in Paris in 2022 and finished second in this year’s Clay Court Grand Slam Tournament.
Her next will be on Monday against Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 20, with the winners reaching the quarterfinals.
After only 30 minutes was needed to charge for the first set on Saturday, Gauff was caught up in his second 75-minute struggle.
The set included eight serve breaks, with pop fireworks wafting from the nearby football stadium belonging to Paris Saint-Germain to Court Philippe Chatrier.
The second key was when Gauff kicked out 5-3, 30 love in a Bouzkova serving. Four times in a total, Bouzkova had to connect two consecutive points to force the third set.
But Gouf refused to allow it. He frequently stretched his points with her amazing court compensation until she could find space to hit the winner. In a particularly memorable exchange, Gouf sprinted to barely reach the drop shot, scrambled into that position to block the volley, and popped out for an overhead smash.
Finally, Gauff has more than twice as many winners as the second set, Bouzkova from 22 to 11, and helped himself by scoring points on 11 of his 14 trips to the net.
Goff is one of five American women in the fourth round. Others are No. Jessica Pegula of 3, No. 7Madison Keys, No. 16Amanda Anisimova, a seedless Hailey Baptiste.
There were still three Americans in the bracket heading for Sunday.
The Keys, who won the Australian Open in January, saved three match points 5-4 in the final set, beating 2020 Australian Open champions Sofia Kenin 4-6, 6-3 and 7-5. Key currently plays Baptist in the 70th place.
Anisimova met No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal spot, and last year’s US Open runner-up Pegula faces French wildcard entry Lois Boisson.