By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday October 5, 2023
The American topped Tokyo champion Veronika Kudermetova to reach the last eight in Beijing.
Photo Source: Getty
Coco Gauff continues to ride the hot hand in Asia.
The 19-year-old, who won her maiden major title at the US Open in September, stretched her current career-best winning streak to 15 matches with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over 16th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova.
Gauff, who improved to 47-13 on the season, will face Maria Sakkari of Greece in the quarterfinals.
A Weight Lifted
Gauff told reporters that she is feeling much more confident in her abilities after her stunning run to the US Open title, where she became the youngest American to triumph in Flushing Meadows since the great Serena Williams in 1999.
“I think having that win makes you more confident in these moments,” she said. “Especially the way the US Open went for me, a lot of three-set matches, a lot of tough moments. I think it's way more pressure in the Grand Slam than a 1000, even though there's still pressure, but it's just less. I think I'm able to handle these emotions more because of that experience.
“Honestly, I do feel more confident stepping on court. Plus the way I kind of started on the scene, a lot of people wanted that for me and expected that from me. I feel like now it's a little bit of a weight lifted and I'm able to play more freer, focus on the long-term and how to be able to set myself up to win even more.”
Gauff needed 1:47 to snap Kudermetova’s six-match winning streak and improve to 2-1 lifetime against the Russian. She had to work for it, especially in a first set that saw her squander a 3-0 lead, fall behind by a break at 5-4, then break Kudermetova when she was serving for the set in the next game.
The 26-year-old had four set points in that game (and led 40-0), but Gauff held firm and eventually wriggled out of the set in a tiebreak.
“Honestly at 5-4, Love-40, I don't even know what happened,” Gauff recalled. “I mean, I know I hit, like, two good returns and I think she double-faulted. But fighting for every point.
“I think obviously winning that first set, I think she was probably maybe a little bit frustrated so she gave me a little bit more errors. I don't think I really changed much in the second. I think I was trying to continue to be aggressive.”
Gauff took a 4-0 lead in the second set and didn’t drop serve – she converted her second match point to finish off her victory.
Quarterfinals set in Beijing
The last eight is set in Beijing, as Aryna Sabalenka wrapped up the Friday night session with a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Jasmine Paolini, setting a blockbuster with Elena Rybakina.
Here is how the last eight shape up:
[1] Sabalenka v Rybakina [5]
[13] Ostapenko v Samsonova
[6] Sakkari v Gauff [3]
[9] Garcia v Swiatek [2]