Holder Gauff defeated by Potapova; Sabalenka solid at French Open | Tennis

Defending champion Coco Gauff was dramatically dethroned by Anastasia Potapova at the French Open, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka broke through the chaos to dismiss Daria Kasatkina and reach the fourth round of Roland Garros.

After a brutal two days for fanatical players at the Grand Slam on clay, in which Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic crashed, Gauff could not find her best level on Saturday and lost 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.

“I don’t know. I had chances,” Gauff said after the loss.

“Just trying to take more advantage of the good points I got that I didn’t quite finish… that was the difference. She was able to finish points and I couldn’t.

“It’s one thing to lose, but today I competed. I fought my hardest, but I don’t think I played the way I wanted to in the crucial moments.”

Potapova rattled Gauff with powerful baseline striking and broke at love in the opening match before taking a 4-2 lead when the American slipped and fell to the floor of Court Philippe Chatrier while trying to reach the ball.

Gauff dusted himself off and won the next two games in front of a sparse center court crowd, with attention divided between Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League football final with Arsenal in Budapest and home crowd favorite Moise Kouame in action.

Gauff’s premature departure leaves four-time champion Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka as the top contenders to win the Suzanne Lenglen Cup, while Potapova will be seen as the dark horse after pulling off a significant upset.

“I have a little cramp, but it’s okay. It’s all good. I have no words now. I’m extremely happy,” Potapova said in her on-court interview as she held her right arm after two hours and 37 minutes of hard hitting.

“Coco is such a champion and I respect her so much. I’m incredibly proud of myself for staying there and fighting until the last point.”

Sabalenka earlier defeated Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5 on a sun-drenched Court Suzanne Lenglen for her 100th win as the highest-ranked woman, making her only the ninth player to achieve the feat since the WTA rankings began.

She joined Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Justine Henin and Swiatek on the honors list.

“I have goosebumps,” said Sabalenka, who suffered from dips in form and crippling service problems a few years ago.

“It means the world to me, and I’m just happy that I stayed strong through the hard moments. I fought and never gave up, and that’s what it got me.”

Home crowd favorite Kouame falls

Matteo Berrettini provided plenty of fight in his clash with Francisco Comesana, winning 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(15-13) in five hours and 13 minutes to set up a meeting with sinner killer Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Cerundolo came through his own epic with a 6-4, 6-7(9), 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-6(10-8) victory over Martin Landaluce in a match that was two minutes shorter than six hours. But his brother Francisco lost 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to Zachary Svajda.

Alejandro Tabilo ended the run of French 17-year-old Moise Kouame 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11-9) in another long match, but local fans had plenty to celebrate as Diane Parry battled past sixth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(10-3).

Madison Keys showed her experience by beating 19-year-old Victoria Mboko 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.

Former world number one Naomi Osaka previously dazzled in an all-gold outfit but had to dig deep for a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 victory over American teenager Iva Jovic.

Flavio Cobolli then dispatched another young American with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Learner Tien before Matteo Arnaldi got past Raphael Collignon 6-4, 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(10-4) as Italian fans found new hope after Sinner’s defeat.