French Open 2023: Coco Gauff to play Mirra Andreeva, achieving an interesting milestone

Coco Gauff will, for the first time in her professional career, play against someone younger than her at a Grand Slam when she faces 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the third round of the 2023 French Open.

Gauff, 19, had her breakthrough on the WTA tour at a young age, becoming the World No. 4 when she was just 18 in 2022.

Still a teenager, she has already reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, the final of the French Open, the fourth round of Wimbledon, and the quarterfinals of the US Open.

During her 14 previous Grand Slam appearances, Gauff has never played against someone younger than her. That run will come to an end in the Roland Garros third round on Saturday, June 3, when she faces Mirra Andreeva.

Coco Gauff reached the third round of the 2023 French Open by defeating Rebeka Masarova in the first round, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, and Julia Grabher in the second round, 6-2, 6-3.

The World No. 143, Mirra Andreeva, had to go through qualifying to make her first Grand Slam main draw appearance. In the first round of the main draw, Andreeva defeated Alison Riske-Amritraj, 6-2, 6-1, and Diane Parry in the second round, 6-1, 6-2.

At the Madrid Open, Andreeva shocked Leylah Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Magda Linette before falling to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round.

Coco Gauff reveals Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler offered her tickets for the NBA Finals before the beginning of playoffs

Tennis and basketball have crossed paths a few times at the 2023 French Open, with Novak Djokovic praising Denver Nuggets superstar and compatriot Nikola Jokic in a couple of interviews.

Coco Gauff also talked about the upcoming NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, revealing that Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler offered her tickets to the Finals when he didn't even know if his team would be in the playoffs.

Butler offered her tickets for Miami's final home game of the season in April, but Gauff said she wouldn't be able to make it because of tennis obligations. The basketball player had another plan.

"And then he said: 'OK, when we make the Finals, let me know if your family wants some tickets.' So this was before [the Heat] were even in the playoffs."

"This is before we lost to the Hawks for the first Play-In game. Everybody is like we have a 3% chance of making the Finals, but when he sent me that, I knew we were making the Finals because he didn’t say, ‘If we make the Finals,’ he said: ‘When we make the Finals.’ Now that we are in the Finals, I can say that story," Gauff revealed during a press conference at Roland Garros.