Wuhan Open: Coco Gauff motors through to quarter-finals, Jessica Pegula knocked out by home favourite Xinyu Wang
By Flo Clifford
Updated 10/10/2024 at 14:51 GMT+1
React to this story
World No. 4 Coco Gauff moved into the Wuhan Open quarter-finals with a "pretty straightforward" win over Marta Kostyuk, but Jessica Pegula fell in straight sets, 6-3 7-5, to home hopeful Wang Xinyu. This year's US Open finalist had been bidding to make it two Americans in the final eight but was outplayed by the Chinese player. Gauff, meanwhile, needed just 61 minutes to beat Kostyuk 6-4 6-1.
Highlights: Goffin stuns Zverev in Shanghai to reach last eight
Video credit: SNTV
Coco Gauff's impressive run of form in China continued with a routine 6-4 6-1 victory over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the Wuhan Open.
The week after lifting the China Open trophy in Beijing, the American is through to the quarter-finals at another WTA 1000 event as her winning streak under new coach Matt Daly continues.
Gauff needed just 61 minutes to dispatch Kostyuk, helped by some inopportune double faults by her opponent, in her eighth win in a row.
"I'm really happy with how I played today," Gauff said afterwards. "It was a pretty straightforward match. Marta and I always have some good battles. Today I was able to get through in straight sets."
Gauff managed the key moments well in a tightly-fought first set, dropping serve in the second game of the match but regaining control of her serve and proving unbeatable in return games.
She converted all five of the break points she earned and after clinching the opening set, ran away with the second. Linette won just 11 of the 35 points in the second set and double-faulted four times, including on match point, to concede defeat.
An eighth career WTA title in Beijing propelled Gauff back up the rankings to world No. 4 after a disappointing fourth-round exit in her US Open title defence in September.
Daly was brought into her coaching team after the American hard-court swing, replacing Brad Gilbert, and it has so far proved a fruitful partnership.
Her next opponent will be Magda Linette, who also only dropped five games en route to a straight-set victory over eighth seed Daria Kasatkina to make her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.
Linette and Gauff have only played once before, in the first round of the 2021 US Open, which the American won in three sets.
"That match, it's so long ago," Gauff said. "I practiced with [Linette] multiple times in between. She lives in south Florida. She's a tough opponent, she's been playing a great couple of matches here in Wuhan. I expect it to be a tough match."
PEGULA SUFFERS SURPRISE LOSS TO HOME FAVOURITE WANG
Seeds have been falling all week in Wuhan and on Thursday it was the turn of No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula, who lost in straight sets to home favourite Wang Xinyu for the second time this year.
The Chinese player, ranked 51st in the world, had the backing of a hugely supportive home crowd as she produced the upset of the day, winning 6-3, 7-5.
Wang was on the front foot throughout, serving well, and although Pegula threatened a fightback late in the second set, Wang held firm to reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.
The US Open finalist broke back for the first time at 5-4 - the first time Wang had faced a break point all match - and successfully served to stay in it, levelling things at 5-5. But her serve came under pressure once more and Wang sealed victory on her second match point with a sweet down-the-line backhand winner.
She has now won both of her matches against the American, having beaten her at Wimbledon this summer, with the two victories her only Top 10 wins.
Wang, who won a silver medal in the Paris Olympics mixed doubles this summer, will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next.
SABALENKA CONTINUES WINNING STREAK IN WUHAN
World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has never lost a match in Wuhan, having lifted the title on the two previous occasions she's played there, in 2018 and 2019.
But that streak looked set to crumble against Yulia Putintseva, a tricky customer who had won their only previous encounter.
Putintseva broke three times and took advantage of an error-strewn start by her opponent as she raced to a 6-1 lead in just 29 minutes, but Sabalenka - who has won two Grand Slam titles this year - stopped the rot in the second set. Under pressure on serve and trailing 3-4, she secured a crucial hold for 4-4 and turned the match around, breaking in the next game and serving out to level the contest.
That proved key in shifting the momentum and staving off an unlikely upset. Nine games in a row went the Belarusian's way and Putintseva grew increasingly frustrated, whacking a ball into the net as she went a double break down in the decider.
Despite a wobble for Sabalenka late on, going 0-30 down as she served for the match, she held firm to book her spot in the quarter-finals, winning 1-6 6-4 6-0. It will be an 11th straight tour-level quarter-final for the recent US Open champion in a streak going back to Stuttgart earlier this year.
Watch and stream top tennis action live on Eurosport and discovery+
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement