‘Very difficult to call’ – Wilander previews women’s US Open draw
Coco Gauff marched into the quarter-finals of the Citi Open with a straight-sets win over Hailey Baptiste, while Elina Svitolina’s superb recent form continued against Daria Kasatkina.
Gauff, seeded third on home soil, ousted Washington D.C. local Baptiste 6-1 6-4 in 77 minutes.
It marked the world No.7’s first main-draw win at the Citi Open, earning her a clash with sixth seed Belinda Bencic in the last eight.
“Playing Hailey, a friend, known her for a long time. It was really cool to play her in front of her hometown, and hopefully we have many more battles in the future,” said Gauff.
“We practiced together so many times. Camps together. We even shared a room together in Palm Springs for two or three weeks. We were roommates. We know each other very well.”
Gauff remained unbroken on serve throughout her victory, surging to a comfortable win on Stadium Court.
The 19-year-old didn’t look back after saving three break points early in the first set, cruising through the opener before edging a more competitive second set with a single break.
Sixth seed Bencic stands in Gauff’s way next after beating American qualifier Lauren Davis 6-1 6-4.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina continued her excellent recent run by beating fifth seed Kasatkina 6-2 6-2.
The Ukrainian extended her dominant head-to-head record to 8-0 with the victory – a remarkable run in which she has dropped only two sets to the world No. 11.
Svitolina will now compete in a quarter-final for the fourth time in her last five events, facing either top seed Jessica Pegula or lucky loser Peyton Stearns.
Seventh seed Madison Keys reached a third consecutive Citi Open quarter-final by beating Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-0 and will play Maria Sakkari or Leylah Fernandez next.
Defending champion Liudmila Samsonova kept her title defence on track with a 6-1 6-3 win against Sorana Cirstea, earning a match-up with Caroline Garcia or Marta Kostyuk in the last eight.
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