French Open 2023 Day 9 recap: Coco Gauff sets Iga Swiatek rematch, Ons Jabeur makes African history, and more

Day 9 of the French Open 2023 saw the Round of 16 of the singles tournaments conclude, giving us our quarterfinalists this year.

Casper Ruud and Holger Rune sailed through to the last eight but in contracting fashion. Ruud registered a comfortable straight-sets win against Nicolas Jarry, while Rune came through a five-setter against Francisco Cerundolo.

Alexander Zverev's resurgence is going strong, with the German sealing a dominant win over Grigor Dimitrov. Finally, Yoshihito Nishioka's run has come to an end at the hands of Tomas Etcheverry.

In the women's singles, Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff had straightforward wins against Bernarda Pera and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova respectively. Beatriz Haddad Maia, on the other hand, had to come from a set down to defeat Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek had a relatively easier time on the court as her opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired from the contest when the Pole was leading 5-1 in the opening set.

On that note, let's take a look at three talking points from Day 9 of the French Open.

---

#1 Coco Gauff and Iga Swaitek set up 2022 French Open final rematch

Iga Swiatek defeated Coco Gauff in the 2022 French Open final to emerge as the champion. She has a 6-0 head-to-head record against the American and has never lost a set to her to date.

The two are now set to meet at the Paris Major once again, this time in the quarterfinals. Swiatek, however, isn't taking comfort from her win against Gauff in last year's final and stated that she will approach the match without an eye on the past.

"This is a totally different year, totally different tournament. I have to be ready, you know, regardless of what happened last year," she said in a press conference.

---

#2 Ons Jabeur makes African history

Ons Jabeur has become accustomed to making and breaking African records over the last few years. With her Round of 16 win against Bernarda Pera, she has become the first African player (male or female) to reach the quarterfinal stage at each of the four Grand Slams in the Open Era.

After her win, Jabeur stated that she was doing her best to represent not just Tunisian but the entire African continent as best as possible.

"Glad to have the energy, to have the support of Tunisians. But not only them, also the African continent at large. This is why I'm working so hard, and even more than before, to reach that level. Because I would like to give help. I would like to be present and representing that specific world," she said at a press conference.

---

#3 Scandinavian pride Casper Ruud and Holger Rune

Casper Ruud and Holger Rune are doing their best to show Scandinavia in the right light.

Ruud now has a 77.3 winning percentage at the French Open. In the Open Era, only Bjorn Borg (96.1%) and Mats Wilander (83.9%) have fared better than him among male Scandinavian players with more than 10 main draw matches at Roland Garros.

The Norwegian has also followed his idol Rafael Nadal in establishing dominance on clay. Ruud has now won 114 claycourts matches, more than any other male player since 2017.

Rune, on the other hand, is quickly establishing himself on the tour. With his defeat of Francisco Cerundolo, he reached his second Grand Slam quarterfinal before turning 21 years old. In doing so, he becomes the first man from Denmark to achieve the feat and the first Scandinavian man since Stefan Edberg in 1985 to achieve this feat.

Rudd and Rune will next face each other for a spot in the Paris Major semifinals.