Coco Gauff’s game intelligence and fighting spirit will go a long way in establishing herself in the “Big Four” of women’s tennis, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur said after losing to the American in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Third seed Gauff battled back from a set down to beat Jabeur 4-6 6-2 6-3 and reach the semifinals for the second time. She finished runner-up in 2022.
Since Ash Barty’s retirement, world number one Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have won six of the last eight Grand Slam titles to earn the “Big Three” tag.
But 20-year-old Gauff — who won her first Grand Slam title at last year’s U.S. Open — has climbed up to third in the rankings, sandwiched between the big-hitting Sabalenka and Rybakina.
“I think Coco is an amazing player. My favourite thing about Coco is her fighting spirit. I think she’s playing great tennis right now,” Jabeur told reporters.
“Obviously, she’s such a fighter, she always tries to find ways, she’s really smart on the court. I definitely see her becoming maybe (a member of) the ‘Big Four’. They have the ‘Big Three’ right now,” she added with a smile.
“I think she has a long way (to go). She’s what, number three right now? And having a lot of things to improve, it’s actually good news for a player.”
Although Gauff had struggled during the claycourt swing as she looked to fine tune her serve, the American has worked on her weaknesses to turn it into a potent weapon.
Against Jabeur, she consistently hit 200 km/hr, with one serve clocking 205 km/hr — the fastest serve hit by a woman at Roland Garros this year.
“It was a tough match today, which I expected. Coco plays really well,” Jabeur added. “At certain moments it was difficult for me to return her serves, mainly on my forehand.
“Coco was better (in) the moments, especially in the third set.”
Swiatek continued her ruthless demolition of French Open opponents Tuesday as she stormed into the semi-finals, while Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas square off in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final.
In the semifinal, Gauff will face Swiatek who thrashed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2.
World number one Swiatek improved her career record in Paris to 33-2 and is on course to become the first woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row since Justine Henin in 2005-07.
After Swiatek’s 40-minute rout of Anastasia Potapova in the last 16, the only consolation for Vondrousova was her snapping the Pole’s incredible run of 20 consecutive games won early in the second set.
“Honestly I think everything worked,” said the 23-year-old Swiatek. “I felt like I was in the zone today.”
Since saving a match point against Naomi Osaka in round two, Swiatek has looked every bit the tournament favourite and goes into her semifinal with Gauff having won 10 of their 11 meetings, all in straight sets.
Gauff has come up short against Swiatek in four attempts on clay and was beaten by the top seed on her way to the title in Rome last month.
“You don’t want to change your routines. Not to put too much baggage on your shoulders, just treat it like any other match and not something huge,” said Swiatek.
“Against Coco it’s not easy, she really likes playing on clay especially here, I think so I’ll just focus on myself.”