BEIJING ¨C Defending champion Coco Gauff fought back to beat Belinda Bencic 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in a tense encounter Tuesday and reach the China Open quarterfinals.
Gauff next plays Eva Lys of Germany in Beijing.
¡°It was a tough match,¡± Gauff said. ¡°I had chances in the first to close it out but overall I¡¯m happy with how I fought. She was being really aggressive.¡±
There were frustrations on both sides of the court at a largely empty stadium as the players switched between one half darkened by shade and the other in the blazing sun.
There was a flash point between the two players during a changeover in the second set when Switzerland¡¯s 15th seed Bencic said: ¡°Your team is chatting. I¡¯m too old for these mind games, okay?¡±
¡°You¡¯re the one playing the mind games,¡± Gauff, the second seed, shot back.
The 21-year-old Gauff kept it together to win the tiebreak when Tokyo Olympic champion Bencic double-faulted on set point and threw her racket in anger.
The world No. 3 Gauff broke early in the third set and carried that momentum through to win when a flagging Bencic returned into the net.
With her last-16 victory, Gauff qualified for the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia in November.
¡°Happy to qualify once again. Happy to be back in Riyadh and I¡¯m glad I was able to do it here,¡± Gauff told the on-court interviewer.
¡°It¡¯s been a tough tournament so far, but I¡¯m happy to get through.¡±
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