Coco Gauff has booked her spot in the China Open semi-finals but she had to do it the hard way.
On Thursday the World number six defeated qualifier Yulia Starodubtsewa to advance to the last four in Beijing for the second successive year.
The American has been desperately searching for her best tennis following what was a poor Olympic Games campaign and North American hard court swing.
She is still below the level she produced to win the US Open in 2023 and reach a career-high ranking of number two, but the 20-year-old is battling hard and still finding ways to win.
What did Miles Maclagan say about Coco Gauff’s performance at the China Open?
Coco Gauff started her China Open quarter-final match slowly as she lost the first set after winning just two games.
She failed to hit a single winner in set one and won just 29% of her second serves with a total of seven double faults, three of which came in the opening game of the match.
But the 20-year-old managed to regroup and started to find her range as she began to hit some winners and increase the consistency of her serve.
As Gauff grew in confidence, Starodubtsewa began to force the issue as her inexperience on tour began to show. She claimed just for more games as Gauff completed a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback.
Post-match Miles Maclagan was stunned by Gauff’s performance in the first set, but was impressed with how she was able to turn things around.
“It would have been a huge victory for Starodubtsewa, but she was just unable to keep her game plan together. She got overly aggressive at times which is easy to do against the athleticism of Gauff,” he said.
“Gauff amazingly didn’t hit any winners in that first set and after that was able to just start dictating play a little more frequently.
“She felt better about her game and emotionally she got a release as well because those double faults did seem to be getting on top of her. But surely she’s going to need to play better in the next round.”
Who does Coco Gauff play next?
Gauff will likely face her biggest competition so far when she takes on Paula Badosa in the China Open semi-finals. The pair have played one another on five previous occasions, with the Spaniard winning three times.
However, Gauff won their last meeting which took place at the Italian Open. It was an exciting three-set battle, which began with Badosa taking the opening set.
But much like she did against Starodubtsewa at the China Open, Gauff battled back and claimed a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win.
Ahead of facing Badosa for the sixth time, Gauff said during her on-court interview: “Last time I played her was in Rome this year.
“She’s obviously a tight opponent, that match was a long match so I expect it to be a tough match and Paula’s a great player on and off the court.”
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