Teenager Coco Gauff beats veteran Kaia Kanepi to reach French Open fourth round

The youngest player left in the women’s French Open draw knocked out the oldest as Coco Gauff beat veteran campaigner Kaia Kanepi.

Gauff, 18, swept past 36-year-old Estonian Kanepi – who turned professional five years before the American was born – in straight sets, 6-3 6-4.

The 18th seed will now face Belgium’s Elise Mertens, ranked 31, as she attempts to match last year’s run to the quarter-finals.

Fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez is also through, the 19-year-old Canadian beating Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 7-5 3-6 7-5.

Karolina Muchova was in tears as she was forced to retire from her match against Amanda Anisimova.

The luckless Czech has been plagued by injuries for almost a year and a half, but looked back to her best after knocking out fourth seed Maria Sakkari in round two.

However, having taken the first set against American 27th seed Anisimova, and with the score at 2-2 in the second, Muchova slipped and twisted her ankle.

The 2021 Australian Open semi-finalist did not win another game and was tearfully forced to call it a day at 0-3 in the third.

Angelique Kerber, seeded 21, will have to wait another year to complete her set of grand slam titles after going out in straight sets to Emma Raducanu’s conqueror Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

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