Gauff Passes Bencic Test In Madrid With Flying Colors To Continue No. 2 Charge

Coco Gauff made it to her maiden Madrid Open quarter-final after impressively beating Belinda Bencic in the fourth round of the tournament.

Gauff has never made it to the quarter-finals at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, and it looked improbable also this year, considering her form prior to the event. It looked even less probable after the American player lost the first set at the event this year, 0-6.

Eventually, Gauff won that match against Dayana Yastremska, and she won her following match as well to set up a meeting with Belinda Bencic for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Bencic already beat the 2023 US Open champion this year, so Gauff knew that she had to bring her best level if she wanted to challenge the Swiss player.

Gauff did exactly that early in the match. She served impressively, losing just two points in her first three service games and creating a total of five break points in her opponent's first three service games.

Ultimately, Gauff used one of those chances to lead 4-2, but she immediately lost the one-break advantage, with Bencic levelling the score at 4-4. The Swiss player shifted the momentum, but she couldn't use it to her advantage.

Gauff regrouped and won six points in a row, leading 5-4 and 30-0. The tenth game of the first set was a proper battle, but after Bencic's unsuccessful drop shot attempt, Gauff won the set 6-4.

With the first set in her pocket, Gauff had a reason to be confident ahead of the second set of this match. The American player started well, breaking Bencic's serve already in the fourth game, leading 3-1.

The American player then held her serve to lead 4-1, and she put pressure on Bencic when the Swiss player tried to stay in the match. Gauff created four break point chances in the eighth game, and those break points were also match points.

The 21-year-old used her fourth match point to win the match 6-4, 6-2, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2025 Madrid Open. She managed to do that just seconds before a major power cut in Spain, which stopped the play in Madrid.

All the electricity at La Caja Magica went out during Gauff's on-court interview, so she can be happy about finishing the match quickly, as she would have had to leave the court and resume the match later, had she not used her match points on Bencic's serve.

In the quarter-finals, Gauff will take on Mirra Andreeva, who will turn 18 on the day of their quarter-final meeting in Madrid.