By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 4, 2023
Coco Gauff streaked through six straight games blitzing Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-2 to burst into the Mubadala Citi DC Open semifinals.
Photo credit: Rob Carr/Getty
Coco Gauff warmed up for Washington, DC taking a CPR class.
The 19-year-old Gauff continues her revival run with a statement win.
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Dispensing disarming power and dispiriting speed, Gauff streaked through six straight games blitzing Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-2 to burst into the Mubadala Citi DC Open semifinals.
It is Gauff's second semifinal in her last three tournaments.
After falling to Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in her Wimbledon opener last month, Gauff reshaped her team—adding former world No. 4 and ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert to the team headed by coach Pere Riba—and has recharged her game.
"I put in a lot of hours after Wimbledon and I was eager to bounce back and I hope that I can play even better," Gauff told Rennae Stubbs in her on-court interview afterward. "And I know if I continue to put in the work I can."
For all the focus on Gauff's forehand, tonight's showdown was a complete performance showcasing the variety and all-court acumen the Delray Beach-born baseliner can bring.
The serve and return are the two most important shots in the sport and Gauff excelled in both areas. Gauff converted six of nine break point chances and won 12 of 19 points played on the Swiss' second serve.
Seemingly lowering her ball toss slightly, Gauff was stinging her serve throughout.
The 2019 Washington, DC doubles champion cracked three consecutive aces to dig out of a double-break point deficit in the second set. Overall, Gauff dotted all areas of the box serving 64 percent with 5 aces against just one double fault improving her 2023 record to 28-12.
"The serve has improved, the return has improved and I think I'm dictating a lot of points, which against Belinda is not an easy thing to dictate to her," Gauff said. "She can change direction really well and I think, to be honest, I was the one changing first today.
"And also, I played all types of tennis. Some rallies I stayed a little bit on the flatter hitting lower side and other rallies I was mixing it up. Mixing the pace, mixing in some slices. The majority of the points I lost, I felt like were in the right direction or she just played great tennis, which that's expected from her."
The victory vaults Gauff into tomorrow's semifinal against defending-champion Liudmila Samsonova.
World No. 18 Samsonova struck her forehand with damaging intent sweeping Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-2.
The seventh-ranked Gauff has won both prior meetings with Samsonova with both going the three-set distance. The rematch pits Samsonova's forehand and baseline power vs. Gauff's bold backhand and comprehensive court coverage.
"She's an incredible player; she has a really good forehand," Gauff said of Samsonova. "I played her in singles in Charleston a long time ago and I barely got through that one.
"It's gonna be a battle—hopefully it goes my way."
A focused Gauff burst out of the blocks quickly tonight.
Gauff spun a forehand pass down the line for a third break point and when Bencic sailed a forehand to end an 11-minute game, the American had the break and a 2-0 lead.
Quick off the mark, Gauff's eye-popping speed around the court spooked the Swiss. Bencic hit a good drop shot, but a sprinting Gauff tracked it down, flicked back a reply then soar to snap off a smash. That sequence spiked a roar from the crowd and helped Gauff break for 5-1.
Festering frustration bubbled over in Bencic, who bounced her Yonex racquet off the court in the following game.
Shrinking open court space with her speed, Gauff drew a forehand error to close a commanding opening set in 39 minutes on the strength of three service breaks.
Mixing in some high-looping topspin forehands with aggressive flat backhand strikes, Gauff denied Bencic the baseline rhythm she craves. Gauff rattled out another forehand error from the Swiss breaking to start the second set with her fifth consecutive game.
The third-seeded Gauff won eight of the first 10 points of the second set backing up the break with her sixth straight game for 2-0.
The Olympic gold medal champion needed to make a stand and she did holding in the third game. Bencic bolted a sharp forehand crosscourt pass that helped her reach break point. When Gauff netted her first double fault, Bencic broke back to level after four games.
Though Bencic was opening the court better, finishing points was another story. Gauff's scalding speed burned Bencic who saw the former French Open finalist make a sideline to sideline burst tracking down a backhand. Though Bencic had the whole court open she bumped a forehand long giving Gauff break point.
Repelling everything Bencic hit at her, Gauff drew an errant forehand to break for 3-2.
Seventy-three minutes into the match, Gauff faced double break point.
Channeling her inner Serena, Gauff threw down three straight aces followed by a stinging serve and a slapshot backhand winner slamming shut the threat with an explosive hold for 4-2.
Bencic was serving down 15-30 in the seventh game when play was interrupted to treat a fan who had fallen ill in the crowd. The medical staff treated the fan, who reportedly recovered.
When play resumed, Bencic double faulted and sprayed a diagonal forehand wide as Gauff scored her sixth break for 5-2.
On a night where no ball seemed beyond her reach, Gauff said she was ready to share her CPR skills, too, if needed.
"At first I was just making sure it wasn't something cardiac because I just took a CPR class so if they needed me to jump in I was ready," Gauff said afterward of the fallen fan. "I had my certification so I did ask the ref if it was cardiac.
"I'm sure there's more professional people out here, but she said it wasn't cardiac so that's when I realized the person was probably okay."
The third seed served out an 85-minute victory smacking her signature shot, the two-handed backhand, down the line to seal it.