French Open 2022: Coco Gauff, U.S. women win round three matches; Isner, Korda lose
Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images
American women dominated the French Open’s third round on Friday. No. 18 seed Coco Gauff, 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens, and former Roland Garros semifinalist Amanda Anisimova all recorded major wins, securing a spot in the last 16. Male players didn’t fare as well: Veteran No. 23 seed John Isner, No. 27 seed Sebastian Korda, and rising star Brandon Nakashima all crashed out of competition.
Saturday saw two other big American wins in the third round of the women's draw. No. 11 seed Jessica Pegula, May's Mutua Madrid Open finalist, swept in straight sets. And 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys won a dramatic three-setter. Both matches ended in tiebreaks.
Gauff—at 18 years old, the youngest woman remaining in the draw—swept her Estonian opponent Kaia Kanepi, 6-3, 6-4.
Kanepi, 36, had previously reached each major’s quarterfinals at least once since 2006, including at this year’s Australian Open.
“I think I knew today was going to be a tough match and I had to earn it,” a smiling Gauff told the Tennis Channel in a post-match interview. “And I really did earn it, and I’m just glad I could get through it.”
World No. 64 Stephens advanced to the French Open’s fourth round last year and was a 2018 finalist at the tournament. She blew past France’s Diane Parry, 6-2, 6-3 to secure a fourth-round matchup with Switzerland’s No. 23 seed, Jil Teichmann.
No. 27 seed Amanda Anisimova used an aggressive style to oust four-time major champion Naomi Osaka of Japan in a first-round French Open blockbuster. The American continued to rip winners in a ferocious first set against the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova. But Muchova belted the ball right back. She won the opening set tiebreak, saving multiple set points.
Unfortunately, the Czech 25-year-old sustained a leg injury in the first set, then rolled her right ankle in the second. Muchova ultimately retired in the third with Anisimova ahead, 6-7(7), 6-2, 3-0.
Next, Anisimova plays last year’s US Open finalist, Canada’s No. 17 seed Leylah Fernandez. The pair already played this year in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open. At that tournament, Anisimova won the first set with a clean 6-2. But after Fernandez rallied to win the second set tiebreak, Anisimova retired.
Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images
With her victory on Saturday, Jessica Pegula was all but assured a spot in the WTA's top ten rankings come Monday. The 28-year-old New York native blasted past Slovenia's No. 24 seed Tamara Zidansek in the first set. But her opponent, a semifinalist at last year's French Open, offered a much tougher challenge in the second. Still, Pegula prevailed, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
Madison Keys found herself in a tight third round match against Kazakhstan's No. 16 seed, Elena Rybakina. Keys ceded the first set, then roared through the second. Both players were in top form during the final set of the day's last match, reaching a lengthy tiebreak. Keys came out on top with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) win.
After Saturday's matches concluded, five American women were headed to Roland Garros' fourth round – something that hasn't happened since 2003.
The third round saw several American men compete against top-ranked players. Germany’s No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, a semifinalist at last year’s French Open, took out Brandon Nakashima in straight sets – though the first and the third reached tiebreaks. No. 27 Sebastian Korda also lost in straights to Carlos Alcaraz, Spain’s 19-year-old No. 6 seed, in an anticipated match between men on the rise. Alcaraz’s compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles eliminated No. 23 seed John Isner in five sets across three-and-a-half hours. The Spaniard booted American 13-seed Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.
The last American man left standing in singles, Mackenzie McDonald, struck out on Saturday. Spain's No. 11 seed, Jannik Sinner, bested the Californian in straight sets. No male U.S. player will appear in the French Open's fourth round.
In doubles, the No. 1 seeded pairing of American Rajeev Ram and Great Britain's Joe Salisbury beat American Maxime Cressy and Spanish partner Feliciano Lopez in the third round, 7-6, 6-4. The U.S.'s Austin Krajicek and Croatian partner Ivan Dodig also swept Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik and Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, 6-3, 6-2.
Women's doubles will see the No. 9 seed pairing of American Asia Muhammad and Japanese Ena Shibahara will advance after defeating Slovakia's Kristina Kucova and Russia's Anastasia Potapova, 6-4, 6-3.
TEAM USA RESULTS | FRENCH OPEN 2022, ROUND THREE | AS OF SATURDAY, MAY 28
WOMEN
(18) Coco Gauff def. Kaia Kanepi (EST), 6-3, 6-4
(27) Amanda Anisimova def. Karolina Muchova (CZE), 6-7(7), 6-2, 3-0 (ret.)
Sloane Stephens def. Diane Parry (FRA), 6-2, 6-3
(20) Daria Kasatkina def. Shelby Rogers, 6-3, 6-2
(11) Jessica Pegula def. (24) Tamara Zidansek (SVN), 6-1, 7-6(2)
(22) Madison Keys def. (16) Elena Rybakina (KAZ), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3)
MEN
(Q) Bernabe Zapata Miralles (ESP) def. (23) John Isner, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3
(6) Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) def. (27) Sebastian Korda, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
(3) Alexander Zverev (GER) def. Brandon Nakashima, 7-6(2), 6-3, 7-6(5)
(11) Janik Sinner (ESP) def. Mackenzie McDonald, 6-3, 7-6(6), 6-3
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