Swiatek to face Guaff, huge upsets for Sabalenka & Rybakina: 2024 French Open Women’s Singles QF Roundup

After winning the 2024 Madrid Open and the Italian Open, Iga Swiatek is the ultimate favorite to win the second Grand Slam of the season, the French Open. Additionally, she defeated her arch-rival Aryna Sabalenka in the finals of both WTA 1000 tournaments and she also has a winning record against all other top-ranked players on the tour. 

The three-time Roland Garros champion had a close encounter with Naomi Osaka in the second round, where she was just one point away from getting eliminated from Roland Garros. However, Swiatek crafted a historic comeback to win the match despite being 2-5 down in the decider. 

Apart from the WTA World No. 1, the current form of  Coco Gauff has also been lethal. In addition to that, the quarterfinal fixtures of the 2024 French Open were filled with huge surprises. Thus, without further ado let’s take a look at the 2024 French Open women’s singles quarterfinal matches: 

Iga Swiatek vs Marketa Vondrousova

Three-time Roland Garros champion, Iga Swiatek’s 2024 France Open campaign almost ended in the second round, where she recorded a historic comeback victory over Japanese tennis star and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

Iga Swiatek also defeated Coco Gauff in the final of the 2022 French Open

After defeating Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 in 39 minutes in the fourth round, Swiatek stunned the 2023 Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 in the quarter-final. The 23-year-old loves playing on the red dirt and she has made only one double fault in her last three matches. 

In addition to that, Swiatek’s winning percentage on the first serve has been around 80%. Against Vondrousova, the WTA World no. 1 won all her service games, accumulating a total of 58 points compared to Vondrousova, who only scored 31. In the semifinals, she will face the United States’ Coco Gauff. 

The Polish tennis star is currently on a 17-match unbeaten streak on clay. In her unbeaten streak, she has defeated the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and more. Additionally, she has lost only three sets in the 17 matches. 

Coco Gauff vs Ons Jabeur

Coco Gauff facing Ons Jabeur was expected to be an intriguing contest in the cards. However, it eventually turned out to be a one-sided contest in favour of the 2023 Australian Open champion. Jabeur won the first set against Gauff 4-6 but gave away the lead as soon as the second set got underway. 

In the second set, Jabeur started looking sluggish as she was failing to reach the width and answer Gauff’s forehands. The Tunisian tennis star lost the second set 6-2, which forced the match into a decider. Despite losing the first set, Gauff easily sealed the victory in the last two sets, with the final scoreline reading 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. 

Jabeur as well as Gauff found similar success on their first as well as second serves but the American managed to have an upper hand in the match with her agility and reach. 

Guaff will be facing WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-final. The Pole leads their head-to-head record by 10-1. They recently faced each other at the 2024 Italian Open, where Gauff lost 6-4, 6-3. Thus, the American tennis star has the biggest challenge awaiting her in the semifinals. 

Mirra Andreeva vs Aryna Sabalenka

Mirra Andreeva stunned WTA World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to secure a spot in the semi-final of the 2024 French Open. Sabalenka didn’t look fully fit since the start of the match. She was suffering from a medical issue as the 26-year-old was also seen taking medications in between sets. In addition to that, she also raised a demand for a doctor. 

Meanwhile, Sabalenka made four double faults in the first set but instead of capitalising on the opportunity, Andreeva was constantly failing to score on her first serve. After a close battle of 65 minutes, the Belarusian won the first set in the tiebreaker with a drop shot. 

However, the 17-year-old Russian prodigy managed to stay in the match by winning the second set 6-4 in 47 minutes. After winning 11 consecutive Grand Slam matches in straight sets in 2024, Sabalenka lost her first set in the French Open quarterfinal against Andreeva. 

As the match was forced into the decider, errors kept increasing on Andreeva’s side. Sabalenka, with limited movement on the court, suffered from fitness concerns but she also managed to hold her serve in initial games. 

Nevertheless, after 2 hours and 29 minutes, the 17-year-old eventually managed to win the match in the decider on Sabalenka’s serve. With the win, Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semifinal since Martina Hingis in 1997. She will be facing Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the next round. 

Elena Rybakina vs Jasmine Paolini

Elena Rybakina hasn’t played a Grand Slam final since the 2023 Australian Open

Jasmine Paolini defeated WTA World No. 4 Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller to secure a spot in the semi-final of the 2024 French Open. Arriving at Court Philippe-Chartrier, Rybakina was the favorite to win the match as she also defeated the likes of Elina Svitolina and Elise Mertens in earlier rounds without dropping a single set.

However, Paolini was quick to take a lead over Rybakina in the first set by winning three consecutive games. With three breaks of serves, Rybakina lost the first set 6-2 in 32 minutes. Nevertheless, with powerful groundstrokes and aces, the Kazakh tennis star forced the game into a decider after winning the set 4-6.

The decider between the two stars turned out to be an intriguing exchange of powerful tennis strokes. Paolini was trying to force the game closer to the net while Rybakina was keen to play from the baseline and amid the action, the Kazakh started making errors. With two more break points in the decider, the Italian tennis star secured a berth in the semifinals of the 2024 Roland Garros. 

Paolini has reached her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal. Before that, she reached the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open, where she lost against Anna Kalinskaya. However, she’s enjoying a breakthrough campaign at the 2024 French Open. With a singles semi-final, she’s also in the last four of the women’s doubles event alongside compatriot Sara Errani.