Gauff Streaks Past Park Into Miami Match vs. Cirstea

By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, March 21, 2026
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty

Sticky situations are sometimes springboards for Coco Gauff comebacks.

Down a set to explosive Alycia Parks tonight, Gauff began driving the ball deeper shrinking space and stretching rallies.

A streaking Gauff tore through nine straight games, a catalyst for her 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 comeback conquest of Parks in an all-American clash at the Miami Open.

Leaning into the ball, Gauff banged a backhand strike crosscourt to close in one hour, 50 minutes.

The fourth-seeded Gauff secured her fourth trip to the Miami round of 16. Gauff will face Romanian Sorana Cirstea for a quarterfinal spot.

Cirstea saved six of seven break points defeating 21st-seeded Elise Mertens, 6-3, 6-2 on Court 2. In their lone prior meeting at the 2020 Australian Open, Gauff edged Cirstea 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Facing Parks in this all-American clash on Stadium Court, Gauff took an early 2-0 lead.

Then Parks began rocketing drives down the line off both wings, pound Gauff’s second serve and reel off six of the next seven games.

While Parks was playing off the front foot, Gauff drifted behind the baseline trying to draw errors. Instead, Gauff put a forehand into the middle of the net as Parks held—her fifth straight game—for 5-2.

Launching herself up and out into the court, Parks served out the first set with command.

A gritty Gauff dug in with determination denying three break points in working through a tense five-deuce hold that spanned nearly nine minutes to open the second set.

Contesting her third Miami Open, Parks lost the range on her forehand, misfiring on that stroke a couple of times as Gauff drained errors breaking at 30 for a 2-0 lead. 

Freezing Parks with the slice ace, Gauff drew an errant return backing up the break for a 3-0 advantage.

Embracing the grind, Gauff came back from 40-Love down to break Parks for 4-0. Then Gauff roared back from Love-40 down in a gritty hold for 5-0.

Flashing a forehand return winner crosscourt gave Gauff a second set point. When Parks missed the mark long, Gauff scored her third straight break for the bagel set.

Exuding more energy in the decider, Gauff exploited a Parks double fault to break for a 2-0 third-set lead.

The two-time Grand Slam champion fended off three break points and refused to yield holding for her ninth consecutive game and a 3-0 advantage.

When she’s on her game, the ultra-aggressive Parks can dictate play against almost anyone. Today, Parks was playing brilliant first strike tennis for one set, but as Gauff drove the ball deeper and took rallies to physical places, Parks lost her edge.

Struggling to keep her drives between the lines, Parks, who was playing with taping on her left hamstring, looked much more winded than Gauff as the third set waged on.

Though Parks saved three break points in the sixth game, she pushed a drop shot wide as Gauff broke for 5-1.

Delray Beach native Gauff closed with a backhand bang and if Gauff can beat Cirstea for a trip to her first Miami Open quarterfinal she would play either US Open finalist Amanda Anisimova or former Olympic gold-medal champion Belinda Bencic.