Gauff Survives Inspired Yastremska In Madrid Despite Losing First Set 0-6

Coco Gauff had a terrible start against Dayana Yastremska at the 2025 Madrid Open, but she was able to fight until the last ball and win the match in three sets.

Gauff has struggled with her form in recent months. Since reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals, the 21-year-old American has lost more matches than she won, which is not a record worthy of a World No. 4 player.

The clay-court season couldn't come at a better time for Gauff, as she loves the high-bouncing surface. Still, her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix experience ended in her second match on Jasmine Paolini's racket.

At the Madrid Open, Gauff took on Dayana Yastremska in the second round, and it wasn't an easy draw for the 2023 US Open champion. Yastremska is a player who can trouble the best, and she proved that in this match as well.

The Ukrainian player was all over her opponent in the opening set of the match. Yastremska started with a hold, and after a quick break, she was 2-0 up. She then had to save a couple of break points, but after doing that, the Ukrainian was up already 3-0.

Yastremska's domination didn't end there. She broke Gauff's serve twice more in the first set, and with one more hold, she was able to bagel the WTA World No. 4, winning the first set of the match 6-0.

Gauff needed to change something, and she needed it fast. She managed to do that already in the first game of the second set, starting with a break. But that one-break advantage didn't last too long for the young American, as she immediately lost it.

But Gauff was able to break her opponent's serve once more, leading 3-2. After that, Yastremska took a medical time out, but Gauff dominated the remainder of the set, winning ten points in a row at one point to win the second set 6-2, sending the match into the decider.

Gauff was able to carry the momentum into the third set as well. She broke Yastremska's serve twice in the opening three games, leading already 3-0. It seemed that nothing could stop the American player from winning the match, yet she ran into problems.

The 21-year-old lost the following three games, and at 3-3 and 30-30, Gauff was closer to losing than she probably anticipated after leading 3-0. But again, she played better in the following moments, and after breaking again, Gauff led 5-3, and she even had three match points.

But the young American lost her advantage again. In fact, when Yastremska made it 5-5, the Ukrainian even led 30-0, coming very close to winning. But Gauff won eight of the last nine rallies to win the match 0-6, 6-2, 7-5, recording a very important win.