Gauff into Paris quarters: 'Raducanu's US Open win inspired women's field'

Teenage American Coco Gauff advanced to the quarter-finals of the French Open for the second straight year, while US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez continued her impressive run.

The 18-year-old eased to a comfortable 6-4 6-0 win over Belgian 31st seed Elise Mertens on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Gauff will take on former US Open champion Sloane Stephens or Jil Teichmann of Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

"I definitely feel confident on the court. I feel like it really suits my game," said the 18th seed who celebrated her high school graduation in Paris last week.

"And I feel like in the previous tournaments this clay season I had some good wins but it wasn't really any outstanding results.

"I feel like it gave me a lot to learn from, and I think I'm taking those tough matches that I lost this season and really learning from them and I guess showing that I'm doing better."

Gauff had to battle for almost one hour in a tense opening set against Mertens before snatching it, but she dominated the second set to seal victory.

Gauff has said Emma Raducanu's surprise US Open win has inspired the rest of the women's field to believe they can challenge for the top prizes.

British teenager Raducanu shocked the sporting world when she came through qualifying to triumph at Flushing Meadows last year.

Gauff, who like Raducanu made her breakthrough at Wimbledon, in 2019, said: "I'm thinking, especially if US Open taught us anything, that anybody can win on any day.

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"I think all players should really go into the match thinking about that. I think for me I've always believed that I could go far, but for other players I think so as well.

"In this