WTA

Gauff reels off eighth straight win to reach Wuhan quarters

By Sports Desk October 10, 2024

Coco Gauff won an eighth successive match in emphatic fashion as she dispatched Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1 at the Wuhan Open.

Fresh from her triumph in Beijing last week, Gauff needed only 61 minutes to get the job done on Thursday.

Gauff, who is aiming to become only the second player to win in Beijing and Wuhan in the same year, will face Magda Linette in the quarter-finals.

"I'm really happy with how I played today," said Gauff.

"It was a pretty straightforward match. Marta and I always have some good battles. Today I was able to get through in straight sets."

Gauff's compatriot Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was beaten by Wang Xinyu, who is the second Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open since the inception of the tournament in 2014 after Qiang Wang in 2018.  

Data Debrief: Gauff brings up 70 WTA 1000 wins

Gauff has registered her 17th win in hard-court WTA 1000 events during 2024, with only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (25) and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 (19) managing more wins in such events before turning 21 since 2009.

The 20-year-old is also the youngest player to hit 70 match wins since the WTA 1000 formate started in 2009. She is only the fourth player to reach that milestone before turning 23, joining Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.

Gauff's next opponent, Linette, is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.

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    Coco Gauff explained how she kept her cool despite the helter-skelter nature of her WTA Finals clash with Qinwen Zheng.

    Gauff prevailed 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Riyadh on Saturday to become the youngest WTA Finals champion since 2004.

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    The 20-year-old collapsed on the court after her winning shot, something the American quipped she had mentally reserved for grand slam victories.

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