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6 hours ago
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Coco Gauff may be struggling with an unfamiliar arm injury, indifferent form and the pressure of attempting to transform her serve with the entire tennis world watching, but the one quality that will never evade her is her fighting spirit.
Under far from ideal circumstances, Gauff’s mental toughness continues to guide her through the Miami Open draw and to her best ever result at her home town tournament. She navigated a path into the semi-finals for the first time in her career with an arduous 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over Bencic.
Although Gauff has not always been able to consistently produce her best level this year in Miami, and she has been taken to a final set in all four of her matches so far, she continues to find a way through.
“I think it just shows my mind and it’s just all about mentality out there at the end of the day,” said Gauff. “I think I have to believe that I belong where I am. I think sometimes I can get impostor syndrome and even when they’re saying my accomplishments during the warm-up, it doesn’t feel like me, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I actually do have a good career’. But it doesn’t feel like that sometimes in the moment, because you’re just working on things.
“Especially with my serve, it just feels like I shouldn’t be where I am. But tennis doesn’t lie, the ball doesn’t lie, so I just have to believe in myself, and my coach has been reminding me: ‘Remember who you are, and you’re a good player.’ They’ve been putting that into my head. At moments I believe in it, at moments I don’t. So I’m just trying to believe it more.”
This performance against Bencic was Gauff’s most impressive of the tournament, with the American retrieving so many balls and forcing herself onto the front foot from defensive positions while also separating herself from Bencic in the gruelling baseline rallies with her variation, particularly using her drop shot well.
Gauff’s serve has been under intense scrutiny in recent months after her struggles led to her changing her service motion under the tutelage of Gavin Macmillan, the biomechanics coach responsible for helping to fix Aryna Sabalenka’s serve. All things considered, this was a solid serving day for Gauff, who fired down six aces and found big first serves in key moments, striking just five double faults in three sets.
Although Gauff grew up and lives in nearby Delray Beach, the Miami Open had previously been her worst WTA 1000 event – it was the only tournament at this level she had failed to reach the quarter-finals at. There were ample reasons to believe that things would not change this year. Gauff had been forced to retire from Indian Wells due to a right forearm injury and members of her team had suggested that it would be prudent for her to skip Miami this year, despite how close the event is to her heart.
For a player who plays such a physical brand of tennis, Gauff has enjoyed a remarkably injury-free existence on the tour until now. The injury in Indian Wells led to the first MRI scan of her career, which she said showed some nerve damage. “It was the first time I had to take an MRI. MRIs are expensive,” she said, laughing. “And that’s what I feel like a coffin would feel like. It was very weird. I felt claustrophobic so I definitely don’t want to go in one of those again.”
Gauff described the injury as “a nerve thing” and she said she has felt occasional twinges of pain during the tournament, including against Bencic. However, so far she has been able to navigate a series of gruelling matches and find her way to victory.
She will next face Karolína Muchová, the 13th seed and recent champion at the WTA 1000 event in Doha. In a rematch of that final, Muchová edged past the 10th seed Victoria Mboko 7-5, 7-6 (5). While Muchová is one of the in-form players on the tour right now, Gauff leads their head-to-head 5-0.
Sabalenka, the No 1 and recent Indian Wells champion, will continue her attempts to win the Sunshine Double for the first time in her career as she faces Hailey Baptiste of the United States on Wednesday. A heavyweight battle between the third seed Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula, the fifth seed, will decide the final quarter-final.
In the men’s tournament, Jannik Sinner extended his record for consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events to 28 in a row after he narrowly edged out Alex Michelsen 7-5 7-6(4) in the fourth round. Sinner is also attempting the Sunshine Double and he will face a resurgent Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals. Martin Landaluce, the Spanish 20-year-old, continued his breakout run as he recovered from match points down to beat the 32nd seed Sebastian Korda, Carlos Alcaraz’s conqueror, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.
This has also been an impressive tournament for Arthur Fils, the 21-year-old Frenchman returning from an eight month injury layoff. Fils, the 28th seed, reached the quarter-finals with a gritty 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 win over the 24th seed Valentin Vacherot.
