Top-ranked US women's doubles out; Novak Djokovic advances to quarters

PARIS -- Favorites continue to fight misfortune in the women's draw at the 2024 Games with the top-seeded doubles team of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula being eliminated by Czech pair Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova after a three-set tiebreak.

"Both of them just played a better tiebreak," Gauff said after the 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 loss.

Defeated a day earlier in a straight sets loss in women's singles as the No. 2 seed, Gauff and Taylor Fritz have one chance remaining for a medal in mixed doubles.

"If I play like what I did (in women's doubles), we have a good chance," Gauff said.

There's been no issue for the top seeds in the men's draw, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz cruising into the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Djokovic reached the Olympic singles quarterfinals for a record fourth time by beating Germany's Dominic Koepfer 7-5, 6-3. The 21-year-old Alcaraz, seeded No. 2, followed suit with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russian Roman Safiullin.

With Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas set to play Djokovic in the last eight, the men's singles draw has a familiar feel.

For all his 24 Grand Slam titles and countless other accolades, the Olympics have never been especially kind to the 37-year-old for whom a bronze medal remains his only souvenir.

The 2024 Games represent most likely his last opportunity to fill the only unoccupied space in his bulging trophy case. So far everything is going entirely to plan at Roland Garros as he has yet to drop a set in three rounds.

If he beats Tsitsipas in the next round he will be in his fourth Olympic singles semifinal, although the only time that led to a medal was at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Alcaraz and No. 9 Tommy Paul of the United States will meet in the quarterfinals after Alcaraz rolled over Russia's Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2.

Paul ended French hopes of a medal by beating Corentin Moutet 7-6 (6), 6-3, but Fritz went down 7-5, 6-4 to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti.

No. 8 seed Tsitsipas, who beat Argentina's Sebastian Baez on Wednesday, presents a formidable obstacle having led Djokovic by two sets to love in the 2021 French Open final only to eventually succumb in five.

"I don't expect anything less than a big fight and a tight match," Djokovic said of their Thursday clash. "The goal is to get to the finals and have a battle for that gold."

World No. 69 Moutet, who benefited from the withdrawal of Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff due to injury on Tuesday, could not cope with Paul's strong display of serving and precision at the net on the red clay.

Paul broke Moutet's serve twice in the opening set but the Frenchman managed to fight back, saving a set point at 5-4 with a breathtaking passing shot. However, Paul stepped up his game to claim the tiebreak.

Paul grabbed a lead quickly in the second as Moutet chained together unforced errors. The crowd favorite battled gamely but after saving six match points he sent the ball long, putting Paul into the last eight.

"I really believed in myself until the last point. It's never over. I was pretty close to breaking in the last game, so I really believed in it," said Moutet, who dropped out of this month's Wimbledon due to injury. "I knew that if I lost today, we wouldn't have any chance to take a medal but it was a big motivation as well."

Paul made his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 where he fell in the first round of the singles.

All four women's singles quarterfinals were scheduled for the fifth day of the Paris Games on Wednesday. The first produced another shock in the women's draw as Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat Czech Wimbledon champion and No. 9 seed Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 6-2.

Top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland dropped a set, returned after a long break and overtook American Danielle Collins to move ahead in the bracket.

Schmiedlova stunned Wimbledon champion Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 to become the first Slovak since Miloslav Mecir in 1988 to reach the last four in the Olympic singles.

Zheng Qinwen ended the stellar career of Germany's Angelique Kerber in a titanic tussle to emulate Li Na who reached the semi-finals of singles at the Beijing Games in 2008. Zheng failed to convert three successive match points in the third set as veteran Kerber clung on grimly in stifling heat but eventually prevailed 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (6) -- collapsing to the red clay in disbelief as Kerber's last shot struck the net.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber announced last week she would retire after the Paris event.

After the emotions and hyperbole of Djokovic's previous round against his clay-court nemesis Rafael Nadal, the atmosphere on a muggy Court Philippe Chatrier was sedate as he comfortably dispatched 30-year-old Koepfer after some initial trouble.

Djokovic earned an early service break with an exquisite drop shot but handed back the advantage immediately.

Koepfer looked confident after four wins across singles and doubles so far in Paris but he undid all his good work at 5-6 down when a bungled drop shot attempt and an errant backhand handed Djokovic the set.

The German needed medical treatment early in the second set and his resistance quickly faded as Djokovic recorded his 16th career singles win at the Olympics -- the most by any player since tennis returned to the Games in 1988.

--Reuters, Special to Field Level Media