Coco Gauff is not slowing down as the American added a second win in China by beating Petra Martic in straight sets at the 2023 China Open.
Gauff is back to winning ways following the best run of her career, which finished with a trophy at the US Open. The American explained before this event that she wants to move on and focus on the future and has been doing that so far with two really solid performances in Beijing.
The first one was more impressive than this one, but this one came against a player who is very experienced and knows how to approach these matchups. Martic gave Gauff plenty of problems in their previous matchup, so this one being close isn't surprising.
The first set was actually very interesting as neither player faced a break point until the last game of the set. That's quite unusual for Gauff's matches, as she's one of the most efficient serve breakers we have in the game. Still, she was the one that got it, eventually taking the opening set 7-5.
The second one was vastly different as we got the breakpalooza we expected in the first set. Three consecutive losses of serve to open the second set had Martic on top 2-1 after that. She held it for a while but gave it back a few games later, only to break once more and take a 4-3 lead. She held it for one game but then allowed Gauff to fight back again.
The baseline play from the American, though, was all over the place as she overhit quite a few balls, losing her serve for the 3rd time in the set, and this time, it proved costly as she dropped the second set. Martic broke Gauff immediately in the second but lost it again in the next game.
Martic served really well and attacked, which gave Gauff a lot of problems, especially with her baseline play being a bit shaky. She never quite found the consistency from the baseline but was able to produce amazing shots in the biggest of moments, especially towards the end of the match.
It ended in a tiebreak which Gauff dominated. The final score was 7-5 5-7 7-6(2) for the American.
0 Comments