Gauff’s French Open title defense still alive after sweeping Sherif

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Coco Gauff’s quest for a back-to-back French Open title is still within reach after dominating Egypt’s Mayar Sherif, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the Grand Slam’s third round on May 28, 2026, at Court Suzanne Lenglen in Paris, France.

Fresh off a sweeping first-round win over Taylor Townsend, Gauff never lost a step, picking up where she left off after manhandling Sherif from start to finish.

Sherif, who marched to the second round with oozing confidence after eliminating Dalma Galfi, faced a laser-focused Gauff, who almost played perfect tennis in nearly an hour.

The American ace was all over Sherif from the get-go after winning nine out of 10 baseline rally exchanges and did not concede a single service possession in the first four games.

From her booming forehand strokes to her flat, powerful backhands, everything clicked for Gauff as her well-rounded offense proved to be too much for the Egyptian netter.

Gauff iced the opening set with a service hold and put the crowd on its feet after scoring a blindingly quick return ace off a Sherif flat forehand shot.

The second set favored Sherif in the first phase after she scored a drop shot followed by a slice return to the wide side, but the more experienced Gauff made up for it with a lob shot and a deceptive fake drop that turned into a down-the-line bomb.

As the match progressed, Gauff slowly stole momentum, just as she did at the end of the first set, after scoring another break point to build a three-game lead.

Sherif attempted to target Gauff’s backhand with a semi-western grip, but the defending champion easily countered it by repositioning to her left side for a wide angle on her forehand.

Gauff convincingly showed her killer instinct with more down-the-line points in the final two games and officially ended Sherif’s campaign with a deep chop stroke that kissed the right sideline of the court.

With the win, Gauff arranged a highly anticipated third-round showdown against Anastasia Potapova, the WTA world No. 28 player, who earlier took down Katie Boulter.