Coco Gauff into French Open semifinals; Carlos Alcaraz eliminated

By OlympicTalkMay 31, 2022, 2:04 PM EDT

Coco Gauff is into the French Open semifinals after beating countrywoman Sloane Stephens, reaching the final four of a major in singles for the first time.

Gauff, an 18-year-old ranked No. 23, beat the 2017 U.S. Open champion Stephens 7-5, 6-2 to reach a Thursday semifinal against 59th-ranked Martina Trevisan of Italy.

Also Tuesday, No. 3 men’s seed Alexander Zverev ousted 19-year-old phenom Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. Zverev beat the sixth seed 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7) for his first top-10 win at a Grand Slam in his 12th try. Zverev will play the Novak Djokovic–Rafael Nadal winner in Friday’s semifinals.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Men | Women | TV Schedule

Gauff, who hasn’t dropped a set in five matches, continued her progression at majors, from the 2019 Wimbledon fourth round at age 15 and the 2021 French Open quarterfinals at 17. She can become the youngest Grand Slam singles finalist since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova at 2004 Wimbledon.

Gauff reflected on that 2021 quarterfinal, when she squandered five set points in the first set and was swept by eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.

“Last year, I think I was too focused on trying to fulfill other people’s expectations,” Gauff said in an on-court interview. “Last year in the quarterfinal, it was a tough loss for me, and I think that match really made me stronger to better prepare for moments like today and the moments that I will face in the next round.”

Trevisan knocked out U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3. Fernandez took a medical timeout in the first set and had her right foot wrapped.

“Today was definitely hard luck,” Fernandez said. “I did feel [the injury] before the match, but I didn’t think much of it.”

Trevisan, a 28-year-old in her first major semi, beat Gauff in their lone previous head-to-head — 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the 2020 French Open.

“I think I’m playing my best of tennis, but I think could be better,” Trevisan said.

The other women’s quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 11 Jessica Pegula and an all-Russian matchup between No. 20 Daria Kasatkina and No. 29 Veronika Kudermatova.

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French Open: Daniil Medvedev stunned by 172nd-ranked qualifier

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 1:43 PM EDT

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No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev was eliminated by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild at the French Open, the first time a top-two men’s seed lost in the first round of a major in 20 years.

Seyboth Wild, a 23-year-old in his second-ever Grand Slam main draw match, prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in more than four hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“I’ve watched Daniil play for, like, my entire junior career until today, and I’ve always dreamed about playing on this court, playing these kind of players,” he said. “In my best dreams, I’ve beaten them, so it’s a dream come true.”

Seyboth Wild overcame the ranking disparity, the experience deficit (it was his first five-set match) and cramps. He began feeling them in the second set, and it affected his serve. Medvedev’s serve was affected by windy conditions. He had 15 double faults.

“I’m not going to look at it back on TV, but my feeling was that he played well,” he said. “I don’t think I played that bad, but he played well.”

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Seyboth Wild, who had strictly played in qualifying and lower-level Challenger events dating to February 2022, became the first man to take out a top-two seed at a Slam since Ivo Karlovic upset Lleyton Hewitt at 2003 Wimbledon, which ended up being the first major won by a member of the Big Three.

The last time it happened at the French Open was in 2000, when Mark Philippoussis ousted No. 2 Pete Sampras.

It’s the most seismic win by a Brazilian at the French Open — and perhaps any major — since the nation’s most successful man, Gustavo Kuerten, won his third Roland Garros title in 2001.

Tuesday marked the 26th anniversary of Kuerten’s first big splash in Paris, a third-round win over 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster en route to his first Roland Garros title.

As a junior, Seyboth Wild won the 2018 U.S. Open and reached a best ranking of eighth in the world. Since, he played eight Grand Slam qualifying tournaments with a 1-8 record before advancing through qualifying last week.

The 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev entered the French Open having won the first clay tournament title of his career at the Italian Open, the last top-level event before Roland Garros.

“Because wind, dry court, I had a mouthful of clay since probably third game of the match, and I don’t like it,” he said. “I don’t know if people like to eat clay, to have clay in their bags, in their shoes, the socks, white socks, you can throw them to garbage after clay season. Maybe some people like it. I don’t.”

Medvedev’s defeat leaves no major champions in the bottom half of the men’s draw. The top seeds left are No. 4 Casper Ruud, last year’s French Open and U.S. Open runner-up, and No. 6 Holger Rune. No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Novak Djokovic play their second-round matches in the top half on Wednesday.

Women’s seeds to advance Tuesday included No. 6 Coco Gauff, who rallied past 71st-ranked Spaniard Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, plus No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No. 4 Elena Rybakina and No. 7 Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

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Olympians, Paralympians star on Top Chef World All-Stars in Paris

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get a taste of Paris in this week’s episode of Top Chef World All-Stars, premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Olympic medalists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Suni Lee and Paralympic medalists Mallory Weggemann and Hunter Woodhall team up with contestants for a cooking challenge in front of the Eiffel Tower, one year before the French capital hosts the Games.

Olympians have appeared on Top Chef before.

A 2020 episode set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Coliseum included Diana Taurasi, Rai Benjamin, Nastia Liukin, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Christian Coleman and Kerri Walsh Jennings.

A January 2018 episode featured figure skater Meryl Davis, freeskier Gus Kenworthy and skeleton slider John Daly, one month before the PyeongChang Winter Games.

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