Coco Gauff backed by Chris Evert 'to play a lot better' in quarter-finals after 'inconsistent' last-16 win

Chris Evert believes Coco Gauff will play «a lot better» after overcoming windy conditions to beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open. Gauff's hunt for a first Grand Slam title continues in France and will face world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the last eight in a rematch of the 2022 final at Roland-Garros.

Ad Gauff's match against Schmiedlova was a topsy-turvy encounter in windy conditions which saw nine breaks of serve across two tight sets. Roland-Garros'She's going to have to play a lot better' – Evert and Wilander on Gauff facing Swiatek2 HOURS AGO Gauff admits the wind made it hard for her to play her normal game and compatriot Evert thinks the 19-year-old will play better in the next round. «It was kind of interesting to me, it was so up and down,» Evert said on Eurosport's coverage of Roland-Garros.

«When she was good, she was great. She was hitting some great shots: her backhand, net approaches, her drop shots were unbelievable. But then she’d hit a few forehands seven or eight feet out, and I was thinking that it might’ve been the wind.» Gauff reached the fourth round after fighting back to beat Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Saturday.

«It was a pretty inconsistent match, but she had a lot of pressure two days ago playing the young star, who was so good,» Evert continued. «It took the emotion out of her a bit, and perhaps she came out here a bit flat, thinking she was playing the No. 100 in the world.

»She’s going to play a lot better, especially if she plays Iga in the next round. «I do think the wind is different here. It goes in circles.