Tennis sensation Coco Gauff continues her stellar season by advancing to the third round of the China Open 2024.
Gauff, who is currently ranked sixth in the globe, earned her berth after overcoming Clara Burel 7-5, 6-3 in Beijing. Her first competition since her impressive showing at the 2024 U.S. Open is this one.
The No. 6 ranked Gauff, who defeated American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4, to advance, will face Katie Boulter of Britain. Gauff survived a set point after behind 5-4 in the opening set.
Gauff is competing in Beijing following her recent breakup with coach Brad Gilbert, which lasted more than a year and produced one Grand Slam victory. This breakup occurred soon after Gauff’s 2023 U.S. Open championship defense came to an end when she lost to Emma Navarro in the fourth round.
Prior to this, the third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in his opening round despite big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard’s relentless onslaught.
Although the Frenchman ranked No. 51 often hit serves at speeds of up to 140 mph (225 kph), Alcaraz, who was ranked second, took advantage of both of his break point opportunities.
Mpetshi Perricard won 83% of the points on his first serve, but Alcaraz was shrewd enough to take advantage of the costly mistakes he made at the start of each set.
Alcaraz stated, “The plan was just to put as many returns in as I can.” To be honest, it wasn’t simple. He is an extremely strong player. Large serves and powerful baseline shots. I so needed to be extremely concentrated.
Daniil Medvedev defeated French veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4, navigating a challenging first match with ease.
After defeating three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in qualifying to get the main draw, Roman Safiullin will take on top-ranked Jannik Sinner. Additionally, seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov and sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti advanced.
The second-seeded Jessica Pegula defeated the Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-1, 7-6 (4) to start her account in the women’s draw.
In the first set, Pegula broke Parry three times on his serve. The U.S. Open finalist won the last five points in the tiebreak after both players traded breaks in the second set.
The American will next face Veronika Kudermetova, ranked 32nd, who defeated Wang Xinyu of China 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Naomi Osaka, the four-time major champion, overcame Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 after falling behind in the first set. In the third round, Osaka will face Katie Volynets of the United States.
Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai defeated sixth-seeded Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-2, and Diana Shnaider, ranked 12th, defeated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of the U.S. Open, will play Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Saturday.
Japan Open
ranked second In Tokyo, Hubert Hurkacz lost 6-4, 6-4 to U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper in the second round, one day after third-seeded Casper Ruud and top-seeded Taylor Fritz were out.
Hurkacz and Draper were tied on aces and winners, but it was Hurkacz’s 30 unintentional faults compared to Draper’s 20 that proved crucial.
In the quarterfinals, Draper will next take on Ugo Humbert or Brandon Nakashima.
Defending champion Ben Shelton, who defeated Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3, also advanced to the quarterfinals. Fritz and Shelton left for Japan after representing Team World in a defeat to Alcaraz‘s Team Europe at the Laver Cup in Berlin.
Before retiring from the match due to an injury, Matteo Berrettini defeated Arthur Fils of France in the first set tiebreak.