Hiram Moreno
This edition of Roland Garros 2022 on the WTA circuit has had numerous surprises, since several important tennis players have been eliminated along the way, and only one belonging to the top 10 of the world ranking reached these quarterfinal instances.
Join us as we unwrap what each of the tournament participants have done so far as we head into the second week of this Grand Slam in France.
Martina Trevisan vs. Leylah Annie Fernández
Martina Trevisan’s path has been complicated throughout this Roland Garros, and the Italian has not lost a set so far, as she beat players like Harriet Dart, Magda Linette, and Daria Saville along the way. However, her last match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich was difficult for her, as she had to play a long tie-break in the first set.
Young Leylah Annie Fernández already knows what it’s like to win this tournament, albeit at a junior level, and the 19-year-old Canadian hopes to have an equally unforgettable campaign in this edition at a professional level. She beat Kristina Mladenovic in the first round and Kateřina Siniaková in the second one, beating them both 2-0, but her last two matches against Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova went to a decisive third set.
This will be a tough test for the Italian, who, although she has good experience on the circuit, has not faced a rival like Fernández so far in the tournament. Thus, the youngster could advance to the next round to continue dreaming of a title.
Cori Gauff vs. Sloane Stephens
This will be a clash between two Americans, as both Cori Gauff and Sloane Stephens will square off as they look to continue to put the country’s name on a high to become the first American woman to win this tournament since Serena Williams (2015).
Cori Gauff hasn’t dropped a set so far, beating Rebecca Marino 2-0 in the first round, Alison van Uytvanck in the second, Kaia Kanepi in the round of 32 and Elise Mertens in the second round, beating the latter 6-4 and 6-0.
Instead, Stephens has gone from bad to better during her campaign at Roland Garros 2022, as her first two matches against Jule Niemeier and Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea saw her come back from a set deficit before winning 2-0 to Diane Parry and Jil Teichmann.
It will be tough for both of them, where they have good chances to advance to the next round. However, Stephens’ experience could end up being of great importance, especially after both have already met in a Grand Slam (second round of the US Open 2021) in a match where Stephens prevailed.
Veronika Kudermetova vs. Daria Kasatkina
Another pair of compatriots will meet in these quarterfinals on the WTA circuit, as Veronika Kudermetova and Daria Kasatkina attempt to become the first Russian to win this competition since Maria Sharapova in 2014.
Kudermetova had a difficult match in the second round, as she was forced to come back from a set deficit to win against Madison Keys in what was possibly her most difficult encounter to date. She previously beat world #4 Paula Badosa after the Spaniard withdrew from the competition, and before that she beat Aleksandra Krunić 2-0 and Lia Zhu 2-1.
Kasatkina has passed all the rounds without complications so far, and arrives without losing a single set and losing a maximum of three games in a set until now.This leaves tennis players like Rebecca Šramková, Fernanda Contreras Gómez, Shelby Rogers, and Camila Giorgi on the way, with the last two being part of the top 50 of the WTA world ranking.
Of the two, Kasatkina looks more likely to advance to the semi-final due to her overwhelming pace in the competition, but a possible surprise from Kudermetova should not be ruled out.
Iga Świątek vs. Jessica Pegula
Iga Świątek, current #1 in the world, is the only giant still standing at Roland Garros 2022, what makes her the only top 10 tennis player still in the competition. Her most difficult match was in the round of 16, where Qinwen Zheng forced her to play a third set for the first time in this edition of the tournament after losing a tie-break in the first set. Before that, she beat Danka Kovinić, Alison Riske, and Lesia Tsurenko.
Jessica Pegula also had no easy encounter in the round of 16, having to come back from a set deficit to beat Irina Begu 2-1 in just over two hours. Before that, Pegula had beaten Tamara Zidanšek, Anhelina Kalinina, and Qiang Whan, although only one of those matches lasted less than an hour and a half, showing how much effort she had to put in to get here.
For this reason, it seems that Świątek is the main candidate to continue advancing in the tournament to win her sixth title in 2022 and the second at Roland Garros since 2020.
