French Open: Gauff rallies to beat Andreeva in all-teen showdown

Coco Gauff rallied from a tough opening set to beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia in an all-teen showdown in the third round

Paris: American Coco Gauff rallied from a tough opening set to beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia in an all-teen showdown in the third round of the French Open on Saturday.

Experience eventually told as the 19-year-old Gauff, who was the runner-up at Roland Garros last year, prevailed 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1, sealing the result with a cross-court backhand winner.

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That ended an impressive Grand Slam debut for the 16-year-old Andreeva, who earlier this week became the youngest player to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open since 2005.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek continued her impressive run as she took just 51 minutes to beat Xinyu Wang 6-0, 6-0. Swiatek has dropped just eight games through three rounds.

However, reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled out of the French Open before her third-round match against Sara Sorribes Tormo because she is sick.

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, Bernarda Pera, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in their careers.