(June 5, 2023) No. 6 seed Coco Gauff won her fourth round match over world No. 100 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 on Monday at Roland Garros. No. 1 Iga Swiatek advanced when her opponent Lesia Tsurenko had to default, trailing 5-1 due o breathing problems. This sets up a rematch of last year’s French Open final in the quarterfinals when Gauff of the U.S. takes on Swiatek of Poland on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.

Swiatek holds a perfect 6-0 record against Gauff.

The 19-year-old Gauff is not afraid to play the No. 1 player and is looking forward to it.

“Since last year, I have been wanting to play her — especially at this tournament,” Gauff told the media. “I figured that it was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well,” Gauff said. “But I’m the type of mentality: If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I think also if you want to improve, you have to play the best. I feel like the way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve. And I feel like you don’t really know what you have to improve on until you see that level.”

She is not afraid of the challenge in her third straight year of advancing to the quarterfinals in Paris.

“It would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it. I have improved a lot since last year, and she has, too,” Gauff said. “I think it would be a great battle for us and for the fans, too. I’m sure they would appreciate that matchup, as well.”

“I just feel pretty solid here [at Roland Garros],” Swiatek said to media. “I’m happy that I’m in a quarterfinal, and every year I’m gonna do my best to always reach these stages or even more so.”