Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are doing really well in doubles in 2023, now moving into the 2023 Madrid Open semifinals.
It's been quite some time since the successful American doubles duo lost a match. The last event that they played together was the Miami Open, and they ended that with the champions' trophy in their hands.
The two then helped their country in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers, both winning their singles matches to secure the spot in the Finals. But they didn't get a chance to team up in doubles there, as Gauff played with her former doubles partner, Caty McNally, in a match that they won against the Austrian duo Melanie Klaffner and Sinja Kraus.
Now, Gauff and Pegula teamed up again, this time for the 2023 Madrid Open as the first-seeded team in an absence of the highest-ranked duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic.
In the first two rounds, the Americans had no problems against Alexa Guarachi and Erin Routliffe, and also Giuliana Olmos and Alexandra Panova, winning both matches in straight sets. But in the quarterfinals, they met the sixth-seeded team Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.
Gauff and Pegula started well as they broke their opponent's serve in the crucial 10th game of the first set to win it 6-4. But they couldn't follow up on an early success in the second set and lost it 3-6 with super tie-break in the third set left to decide.
The Americans controlled the super tie-break from start to finish, never allowing their opponents to think about the win, and after an hour and 23 minutes, they won the match 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 to secure their spot in the 2023 Madrid Open semifinals.
Up next, they will take on an unseeded duo Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse as they bid to become the leading team in the 2023 WTA Doubles Race after the event. Currently, they are second behind Krejcikova and Siniakova, but final appearance in the Spanish capital would move them into the lead.
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