Belinda Bencic pinpointed the moment in which she took her chance to beat Coco Gauff at Indian Wells.
The Swiss player has been in sparkling form since returning to action after maternity leave.
The 28-year-old reached the last 16 at the Australian Open before winning the Abu Dhabi title for the second time.
Now Bencic is into the last eight in Indian Wells after exacting revenge on Gauff after her defeat at Melbourne Park.
What did Belinda Bencic notice about Coco Gauff in the final set at Indian Wells?
Coco Gauff took the opening set against Bencic, who made just 66% of her first serves and registered three double faults.
But after recovering treatment to her foot after set one, Bencic upped her game. She made 70% of her first serves in the second and 83% in the final set, and she did not face another break point.
She continued applying pressure on Gauff’s serve, and the moment to strike came at 4-4 in set three, when the American lost her serve despite being up 40-0, before Bencic successfully served for the match.
Post-match, Bencic explained the moment she saw that Gauff looked vulnerable and when she could take her chance to break serve, and ultimately win the match.
“Of course the game at 40-0 was a turning point. I mean, I kind of won the first point, I thought it was a good point. The second point, I went for it on the return,” Bencic told reporters.
“Then I felt like, okay, this is, it’s possible to win this game. So I really, I mean, tried to be focused there and kind of hang in there. Obviously it was great, you know, to be able then to serve at the match for 5-4.
“I felt like she was more tense, so I felt like that was the right time to go for her forehand. Obviously, like, it’s difficult to all the time go at one side, because I feel like if someone is not so confident on one side, the worse you can do is give them rhythm.
“But, yeah, it was an instinctive choice, and definitely felt like also a tactical thing, and I hope that the score pressure would also kind of work into her mindset a little bit of not being so confident and being a little bit tight.”
Coco Gauff loses her final match before turning 21
Gauff snapped her three-match losing streak at Indian Wells but she still seems some way from playing her best tennis. Her loss to Bencic is the last that Gauff will play before turning 21.
Gauff made over 70 unforced errors in her opening victory against Moyuka Uchijima, and though Gauff looked better in her win against Maria Sakkari, the World number three was not consistent enough to beat Bencic.
Over the course of her three matches at Indian Wells Gauff committed 37 unforced errors, something which continues to be an issue for the former US Open champion.
After celebrating her 21st birthday, Gauff will aim to bounce back when she competes at her home tournament of the Miami Open.
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