Last year's French Open runner-up Coco Gauff overcame an early wobble in windy conditions to outclass Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5 6-2 and make the quarter-finals where she will face holder Iga Swiatek in a rematch of the 2022 final.
Poland's top seed Swiatek set up the blockbuster meeting when her ailing fourth-round opponent Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine retired while down 5-1 in the first set after she called the physiotherapist and had her blood pressure checked.
Gauff won her previous clash with Schmiedlova in Madrid last year, dropping only two games, and the American made a quick start again with a break in the opening game to pull away and leave her 100th-ranked opponent facing an uphill task.
But 28-year-old Schmiedlova, playing in the second week of a major for the first time, mounted a late fightback from 5-2 down in gusty conditions to draw level only to squander her chance and allow sixth seed Gauff to edge a tense first set.
"Today was honestly a difficult match, as every match is. But the wind was something that, I don't know, I wasn't really that prepared for it going in," Gauff said of conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier.
"The one side was gusting like really crazy. Usually, I like to play in the wind, to be honest, but it wasn't something I was prepared for. Overall I'm happy with how I played."
The 19-year-old tightened her grip in the second set, working the angles and deploying the drop shot to devastating effect as she closed out the win without any more drama.
Gauff is relishing a rematch with world number one Swiatek.
"Since last year, I've been wanting to play her especially at this tournament," the American said shortly before Swiatek went through after just 31 minutes.
"I figured it (a meeting) was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well ... if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.
"If you want to improve, you have to play the best. The way my career has gone so far, if I see a level and if I'm not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve. You don't really know what you have to improve on until you see that level."
Reuters.
