LEXINGTON (US), Aug 13: American teenager Coco Gauff overcame some shaky serving on Wednesday to beat No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 and reach the Top Seed Open quarterfinals with her third career victory over a top-15 opponent.
The 16-year-old Gauff hit 10 double-faults and was broken seven times. �I guess, she said afterward, everything was an �A� but the serving.� She was able to hang in there with steady baseline play against the hard-hitting Sabalenka, who had 14 double-faults, including four in one game.
It was a topsy-turvy match that lasted nearly three hours and featured a bit of confusion when Gauff and her father, Cori, got into a discussion with the chair umpire about what sort of coaching is allowed under adjusted rules the WTA put in place recently.
Of more concern to Gauff was the way she was starting off points in her service games. At one point, she implored herself: �I�ve got to make the first serves. Come on.�
Gauff�s plan after dropping the second set? �Just to stay calm and composed,� she said in an on-court TV interview afterward, and making her play balls. That worked. � AP
