A strangely sparse Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, with attention focused elsewhere on a men's match featuring new French teen sensation Moise Kouame and the Champions League soccer final involving local heroes Paris St Germain, witnessed Gauff's unexpected 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 dethronement on Saturday.
Gauff, who'd lifted her second grand slam title last year but has been struggling since then, found out why the Russian-turned-Austrian was considered a dark horse after a striking clay-court campaign.
Potapova, who recently reached a final in Linz and a semi-final in Madrid, constantly discomfited the 22-year-old American superstar with her clean hitting and was undaunted even when losing the first set, having to repel a Gauff fightback in the second before the American's serve betrayed her in the breaker.
Fourth seed Gauff regained control to lead 3-1 in the decider but, taking control of the longer, more draining rallies on another hot day, world No.30 Potapova reeled off five of the final six games.
It delivered the second major boilover in the women's draw after second-seeded Elena Rybakina's exit at the hands of Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva on Wednesday.
"I'm unbelievably proud of myself as well that I stayed there, that I've been fighting for the last point and here I am," beamed Potapova, whose switch of allegiance came last December when she gained Austrian citizenship.
The champion's exit means that Iga Swiatek is the only former women's champ left in the draw, but it's opened up real opportunities for some other marquee names.
Naomi Osaka outstayed American teenager Iva Jokic 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 after nearly three hours in her 100th grand slam match, and will next meet Aryna Sabalenka -- who kayoed Australia's last representative Daria Kasatkina 6-0 7-5 -- in what should be a blockbuster on Philippe Chatrier.
Once again, Osaka's golden outfit began as the biggest talking point -- for the record, she arrived on court in a bomber jacket over a sequinned gold dress, complete with matching train -- but actually it's her tennis, strikingly aggressive, that's taken her to the last 16 for the first time in Paris.
"It's all about having enjoyment", she said of her outfit, recalling the miserable days in 2021 at Roland Garros when she pulled out because of anxiety and depression. "Now I just want things to be fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself."
There was plenty of drama elsewhere with Frenchwoman Diane Parry knocking out former semi-finalist and last year's Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova 6-3,4-6 7-6 (7-3) and outspoken Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova launching another attack on her Russian conqueror Diana Shnaider after her 7-5 6-1 loss.
Before the match, the Ukrainian had accused Shnaider of 'liking' Russian propaganda posts on social media and bitterly criticised her participation in a Gazprom-sponsored exhibition in Russia, saying the company was "financing the war crimes".
But Shnaider was adamant she hadn't been aware of the comments. "I haven't heard anything. I don't know anything about what she said," she said. "Wasn't interested at all."
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