Coco Gauff is thru to the spherical of 16 on the BNP Paribas Open. In a rematch of the semifinal that despatched her house in 2024, the American defeated Maria Sakkari 7-6(1) 6-2.
It was not a cushty victory for Gauff, who served 9 double faults. Whereas not an excellent stat by itself, this was an enormous enchancment from the 21 she served in her second-round match in opposition to Moyuka Uchijima. The third seed had a 64% first serve share and received 5/8 break factors. Her Twenty ninth-seeded opponent solely bought in 57% of her first serves and received simply 3/7 break factors.
The match began with 4 consecutive breaks, because the gamers settled into the difficult situations. The ultimate recreation, on the 20-year-old’s serve, had the viewers on fringe of their seats for a 21-point rollercoaster scoreline. Gauff misplaced two match factors earlier than saving a break level. She went on to surrender a further three match factors and confronted one other three break factors, lastly successful the match on her sixth alternative.
Going through the press after her hard-fought win, Gauff was not thrilled along with her efficiency and cited current modifications to her function one of many main boundaries she’s dealing with, put merely, “It’s tough, trying to learn a new motion.”
The situations have been a subject of dialog right here, with gamers cut up on how the brand new floor has impacted play. After her first Stadium 1 match of the event, performed within the scorching noon solar with a slight however swirly wind, the world quantity three nonetheless was undecided what to make of the courts: “Here it gets a lot of bounce on the balls so that does help. It’s just hard to hit a winner and hit through your serves. Sometimes you hit a good shot and you think it’s a great shot and your opponent is there. I think it’s just kind of testing the patience out here.”
On Wednesday, Gauff will face Belinda Bencic for a spot within the quarterfinals.
