Coco Gauff secured her spot in the WTA Madrid Open quarterfinals with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 win over Tokyo Olympics champion Belinda Bencic. The 20-year-old American showed tactical precision on both serve and return, breaking Bencic three times and dropping just one service game.
In the opening set, Gauff seized momentum early, crafting a forehand winner to break serve at 3-2 and consolidating with another break to close out at 6-4. Despite a brief fightback from Bencic to level at 4-4, Gauff’s aggressive style prevailed.
The second set saw Gauff maintain control, countering Bencic’s overhead winner and securing a decisive break in the tenth game. A backhand winner completed the finish, pushing Gauff to a 4-1 lead en route to the 6-2 result.
Moments after the match, widespread power outages swept across the arena in Spain, cutting off Gauff’s post-match interview and halting the rest of Monday’s play after just three completed matches.
“Yeah, definitely. I had avocado toast and what else did I have? Oh fruit! So that was pretty much it. It was an early start, I didn’t sleep that well last night. So maybe I just need to like not get a lot of sleep,” said Gauff before the lights went out.
Up next for Gauff is a showdown with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva as she chases her first Madrid Open title. The power outage may have stolen the spotlight, but Gauff’s on-court performance left no doubt she’s still the player to watch.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
