Coco Gauff became the second player to achieve an unusual feat as she progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2025 Madrid Open.
The world No 4 secured a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory against 42nd-ranked Belinda Bencic in the last 16 of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Gauff broke Bencic twice in each set and lost serve only once as she avenged her defeat to the 28-year-old Swiss in Indian Wells last month. She now leads her head-to-head series with Bencic 3-2.
The American posted dominant serving numbers as she won 85% of points behind her first serve, 65% on her second, and faced just a single break point in her nine service games.
Shortly after Gauff sealed her win, the Madrid Open was affected by the widespread power outages in Spain and Portugal. Her on-court interview was cut short when she was mid-sentence as the microphone lost power.
The exact moment Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe lost power. pic.twitter.com/B0O4oQDHfh
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 28, 2025
The 21-year-old’s victory saw her reach the last eight of the Madrid Open for the first time in what is her fifth appearance in the Spanish capital.
The 2023 US Open winner has now featured in the quarter-finals at nine of the 10 WTA 1000 tournaments, with the Miami Open the only event in this category at which she is yet to reach the last eight.
Gauff is only the second player to reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open women’s singles event after losing the first set in their opening match 0-6.
Tennis News
WATCH: Madrid Open plunged into darkness as national power outage disrupts event
Aryna Sabalenka becomes third active WTA player to win 10 matches against a single opponent
Gauff, who received a first round bye as the fourth seed, prevailed 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 in her second round contest with Dayana Yastremska.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is the other woman to accomplish this, having beaten Ana Ivanovic 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in her first round contest at the 2011 Madrid Open before going on to reach the last eight.
Gauff will face world No 7 Mirra Andreeva in the last eight in Madrid after the 17-year-old Russian downed world No 99 Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round.
Andreeva, who will turn 18 on Tuesday, became the first player to win 10 matches at a single WTA 1000 event before their 18th birthday since the category of tournament was introduced in 2009. She reached the quarter-finals in Madrid last year and the fourth round in 2023.
Gauff holds a 2-0 record against Andreeva, with the pair’s previous encounters coming in 2023 at Roland Garros and the US Open.
READ NEXT: Coco Gauff joins Maria Sharapova and 3 other other WTA players in remarkable stat
The post Coco Gauff accomplishes rare feat as she sets Mirra Andreeva Madrid Open showdown appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply