US teen Coco Gauff notched another impressive tennis victory on Wednesday, toppling second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 to reac...
US teen Coco Gauff notched another impressive tennis victory on Wednesday, toppling second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.
Gauff, playing her first tournament in the coronavirus-disrupted season since she stunned defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open, lined up a quarter-final clash with eighth-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur, a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 winner over Olga Govortsova.
“I’m just happy to have pulled it through today,” Gauff said after coming out on top in a see-saw battle that lasted two hours and 24 minutes.
Up 5-2 in the first set, the 16-year-old American would need a tie-breaker to put it away.
3️⃣rd Top 15 win of her career 🙌@CocoGauff defeats the No.2 seed Sabalenka, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4.#TSOpen pic.twitter.com/oYXaqX8ToM
— wta (@WTA) August 12, 2020
Sabalenka, who won her third career Premier 5 title in Qatar before the WTA Tour was suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic, took a 5-2 lead in the second set and held off a challenge from Gauff to knot the match at a set apiece.
The third set opened with a string of service breaks, Sabalenka twice clawing back a break. But Gauff gained a break to lead 5-4 and served out the match with an angled forehand winner.
“It was all about...
