PARIS — Coco Gauff wanted to play Iga Swiatek at the French Open again.
Gauff will get that matchup in the quarterfinals on Wednesday — a year after losing to Swiatek in the final at Roland Garros.
Swiatek won her second championship on the red clay of Paris by defeating Gauff in straight sets in 2022. That is part of a 6-0 career edge Swiatek holds head-to-head.
“It would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge," said Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, "but I think that I’m up for it. I have improved a lot since last year, and she has, too.”
Swiatek, a 22-year-old from Poland, has been ranked No. 1 for more than a year. Gauff is currently No. 6.
Swiatek owns a total of three Grand Slam titles. Gauff is seeking her first.
“This is a totally different year, totally different tournament,” Swiatek said. “I have to be ready, regardless of what happened last year.
The other women's quarterfinal Wednesday will be Ons Jabeur vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia. The men’s matches are No. 4 Casper Ruud against No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 22 Alexander Zverev vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
WHAT HAPPENED TUESDAY?
No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Novak Djokovic set up the semifinal showdown everyone has been waiting for. Alcaraz beat No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5). That came after Djokovic played a perfect tiebreaker and a nearly perfect third set to eliminate No. 11 Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4. Alcaraz, who last year's U.S. Open, and Djokovic, a 22-time major champion, will meet Friday.
In women's action, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Karolina Muchova advanced to Thursday's women's semifinals. Sabalenka appeared at a news conference for the first time in nearly a week after skipping the post-match sessions after each of her previous two matches.
WHEN ARE WEDNESDAY'S MATCHES?
All singles play is scheduled for Court Philippe Chatrier, with matches beginning at 11 a.m. local time in Paris, which is 5 a.m. EDT. First up is Jabeur vs. Haddad Maria, followed by Swiatek vs. Gauff, then Zverev vs. Etcheverry. The night match is Ruud-Rune, scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. local time, which is 2:15 p.m. EDT. (AP)