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Wuhan: Coco Gauff secured her 50th WTA main draw victory of the year by defeating Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4 in the Wuhan Open quarterfinals on Friday, potentially setting up a semifinal match with the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff, a former US Open champion who recently adjusted her grip under new coach Matt Daly, encountered issues with double faults throughout both sets but excelled in her returns, leading to a win against the mistake-prone Linette.
“I played well… overall, maybe two bad games,” said the 20-year-old Gauff in the post-match interview, continuing her winning streak to nine matches.
Linette nearly broke Gauff’s serve twice in the opening set, but Gauff saved four break points to maintain her lead, also claiming 14 of 21 return points as Linette, a former Australian Open semifinalist from Poland, was shut out.
Despite making eight double faults, Gauff faced a more challenging second set. However, one of Linette’s 22 unforced errors provided Gauff with a crucial advantage in the seventh game, leading to the only break of the set and clinching her victory.
The winner of the third quarterfinal on Friday, featuring US Open champion Sabalenka and Magdalena Frech, will face Gauff on Saturday.
“I’ve played both of them before; they’re tough opponents,” Gauff remarked.
In other quarterfinal action, third seed Jasmine Paolini will take on fifth seed Zheng Qinwen later in the day, while Ekaterina Alexandrova will compete against Wang Xinyu.
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