PARIS (AP) — A minor car crash couldn’t sidetrack Coco Gauff before she began her French Open title defense.
It took a player who could match the American’s court coverage in long baseline rallies to mark the end of the road for Gauff in Paris.
That player was Anastasia Potapova, who produced a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory over Gauff in the third round on Saturday.
“She was able to finish the points and I wasn’t,” Gauff said. “Just not capitalizing on certain shots.”
The match was played before mostly empty stands inside Court Philippe-Chatrier as French fans stayed away to watch the Champions League soccer final.
Gauff’s second Grand Slam title came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Roland Garros a year ago.
Before her opening victory over Taylor Townsend on Tuesday, Gauff was involved in a car accident on the way to the tournament grounds. She wasn’t injured, but the car wasn’t drivable anymore.
The 30th-ranked Potapova, who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, improved to 3-2 in her career against Gauff. She’s having quite a clay season after reaching a final in Linz, Austria, and the semifinals of the Madrid Open as a qualifier.
The fourth-ranked Gauff was coming off a run to the Italian Open final. She was beaten in Rome by Elina Svitolina — another player who can match her on long rallies.
“I lost the same way in Rome as I did here,” Gauff said. “You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times.”
When Gauff shanked a forehand wide on Potapova’s first match point, Potapova fell on her back and covered her eyes as she stuck her feet up in the air in celebration. Gauff waved to the crowd and quickly walked off court when it was finished.
“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I’ve been fighting for the last point and here I am.”
It wasn’t a matter of mistakes for Gauff — she hit three double-faults to her opponent’s eight and had 46 unforced errors to Potapova’s 56. It was more that Potapova controlled more in the longer rallies and wore Gauff out.
Gauff ran a total of 2,309 meters (yards) to Potapova’s 2,090.
