Wuhan Open: Gauff into last eight after eighth consecutive win

American Coco Gauff, the No 4 seed, moved into the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open by defeating Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 13 seed, 6-4, 6-1 at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center on Thursday.

After both players exchanged early breaks, Gauff got the decisive break of the first set in the fifth game and held on to that to win it 6-4. Kostyuk held serve to begin the second set but the American then ran away with the next six games on the trot to complete the win.

Gauff improves to 3-1 lifetime over the Ukrainian, including 2-1 in 2024, and this was their first match that did not go to a deciding third set.

This was the American’s eighth consecutive win on the tour in China. She claimed the China Open WTA 1000 Series title in Beijing on Sunday, beating Karolina Muchova in the final. This will be the American’s fifth WTA 1000 quarter-final of 2024 and improves her record against top 20 players this year to 6-8.

Gauff, ranked No 4 and making her Wuhan debut this year, will play Pole Magda Linette, who defeated Russian Daria Kasatkina, the No 8 seed, in another round of 16 clash on Thursday. The American holds a 1-0 edge in head-to-head over the Pole.

Ahead of her win today, the 20-year-old Gauff won against Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova (6-1, 6-2).

Kostyuk, ranked No 17, edged out Armenian Elina Avanesyan (4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2)) and benefited from the withdrawal of American Amanda Anisimova earlier in the week.

Wuhan WTA 1000, other round of 16 results (Optics Valley International Tennis Center, hard, USD 3,221,715):

• Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Magdalena Frech
• Aryna Sabalenka vs. Yulia Putintseva
• Erika Andreeva vs. Jasmine Paolini
• Qinwen Zheng vs. Leylah Fernandez
• Xinyu Wang vs. Jessica Pegula
• Hailey Baptiste vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova

You might also like this

Gauff slams tennis fans: “Be more accepting of losses”

tennis majors

Rejuvenated Gauff storms to Beijing title

tennis majors

WTA rankings update: Gauff up to No 4, Andreeva makes top-20 debut

tennis majors

“Coach, THANK YOU” – Swiatek parts ways with Wiktorowski, also pulls out of Wuhan Open

tennis majors