Coco Gauff kept her title defence alive at the China Open after clinching the decisive set against Leylah Fernandez to advance to the round of 16.
Gauff beat Fernandez 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, in what was a closely contested match, with the Canadian almost completing the comeback.
After her opponent drew first blood, the former US Open finalist fought her way back into the match and nearly forced a third-set tiebreak, but ultimately fell to the American for the third time on the WTA Tour.
The matchup proved to be a difficult test for Gauff, who says she made a mistake in the second set against Fernandez.
Coco Gauff explains how she lost the second set in the round of 32
Analysing her performance in a post-match press conference, the two-time major champion said: “I mean, it was a back-and-forth [second] set.
“I had chances I think in the 2-All or 3-2 game to break. I felt like I got a little bit too passive. Then that last game, couple doubles. I don’t even remember what happened.
“But she played well. I mean, I knew, like, how the first set went, it was kind of back and forth. A couple points don’t go your way and you lose the set.
“She definitely played great tennis. I thought she was being aggressive, striking the ball pretty well. She wasn’t really giving me much free points either.
“I think I wish I were more aggressive in some moments. I could tell she stepped up the aggressiveness in the second. I think in that 3-2 game on those break points, I should have put the ball deeper and maybe tried to get her to open up the court.”
Coco Gauff’s round of 16 opponent at the China Open
In the round of 16, Gauff will face Belinda Bencic, against whom she has a winning record at tour-level events.
The two have met three times already in 2025, the first of which came at the Australian Open, where the world number three got the better of the Swiss star in the fourth round.
Bencic overcame Gauff at Indian Wells, but then fell to the Roland Garros champion at the Madrid Open.
They will now meet for the sixth time for a place in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 competition.
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