Gauff eases through to last 16

Monday, 7 June 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

PARIS (Reuters): Teenager Coco Gauff reached the last 16 of the French Open for the first time after fellow American Jennifer Brady quit with a foot injury having lost the first set 6-1 on Saturday.

Coco Gauff (USA) reacts during her match against Qiang Wang (CHN) on day five of the French Open at Stade Roland Garros

The 17-year-old was in complete command as she won the first set in 23 minutes, with only one unforced error to her name.

Australian Open runner-up Brady then asked for medical assistance and decided that she could no longer continue.

“I have been struggling since Rome. I pulled out of the tournament there second round because I have a pretty bad foot injury, playing in a lot of pain,” she said.

“I actually was considering not even playing here. Just up until the day before. I was, like, might as well give it a shot. Today, I woke up and it was just worse. I couldn’t really play my game. Moving about 20%.” Gauff, who has now reached the last 16 of three of the four Grand Slams, will next face Tunisian 25th seed Ons Jabeur, like herself a former French Open junior champion.