Coco Gauff is through to her second quarterfinal at the Cincinnati Open after defeating Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets.
The American won 6-2, 6-4 to clinch her 35th win of 2025 and return to the last eight of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Her North American hard-court swing did not get off to the best of starts, having lost in the fourth round of the Canadian Open, where Gauff fell to eventual champion Victoria Mboko.
After two comfortable wins, things look to be on the up for her in Cincinnati, but former British tennis player Annabel Croft thinks she still won’t be happy with her game.
Annabel Croft gives her verdict on Coco Gauff’s performance
Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, Croft said of Gauff‘s victory: “It certainly wasn’t without its problems.
“She has to take that win, dropping just the six games, but I think there are still probably areas of the game that she wasn’t that happy with.
“The forehand did get a good workout today, I felt it was tentative at times. It sort of fluctuated.
“The backhand was brilliant, you can never criticise the backhand, she plays with so much freedom.
“I think for Bronzetti, she will be very disappointed she did not take advantage of some of the opportunities.
“Those returns of serve, she struggled to get them into play didn’t she. She had a chance to go up 3-2 in the second set and ask questions, but I think she definitely will be disappointed she did not do more when the going was there for the taking.”
Coco Gauff achieves impressive WTA 1000 feat in Cincinnati
With her triumph, Gauff has now reached the quarterfinals at a WTA 1000 event for the 19th time in her career.
Since the format was introduced in 1990, she has tallied the third most last-eight appearances of any woman before turning 22.
Gauff passed her compatriot Serena Williams and trails only Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis, who have 20 and 39, respectively.
The young US star’s birthday isn’t until March, so she will have more chances to climb the list at upcoming events.
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