Coco Gauff secured victory against Belinda Bencic, qualifying for the China Open quarterfinals.
In the gruelling match, the 21-year-old scored 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, advancing her journey in the China Open and securing her spot in the season-ending WTA Finals.
The playoff occurring on Tuesday, September 30, was tense from the start, coupled with challenging natural conditions as the court was split between shade and blazing sun.
After dropping the first set, the second set featured a flashpoint during a changeover. Bencic accused Gauff’s team of “chatting” and stated, “I’m too old for these mind games.”
Responding to the comment, Gauff retorted, “You're the one playing the mind games.”
The American world number three maintained her calmness, though, to score a vital second-set tiebreak. She took that momentum into the decider and broke serve early, mowing through to victory when a tired Bencic returned the serve into the net.
After the match, Gauff stated, “It was a tough match. I had chances in the first to close it out, but overall I’m happy with how I fought. She was being really aggressive.”
The win adds to Gauff's head-to-head record over the Swiss Olympian. Having won in Beijing, the American tennis player has also become part of an elite group with her ninth consecutive win, as she became the third youngest player since 1990 to have 20 WTA 1000 quarterfinals, joining only Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova.
“I’m happy to qualify once again,” Gauff said of making the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
“Happy to be back… and I'm glad to do it here.”
In the quarterfinals, Gauff will face the winner of Germany’s Eva Lys vs America’s McCartney Kessler.
