Well, well, well. Look who’s back in familiar territory. Coco Gauff just waltzed into the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals like she owns the place. She kind of does after winning the whole thing in 2023. The World No. 2 made quick work of Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti with a tidy 6-2, 6-4 victory that lasted just 79 minutes. Not bad for someone who had not played competitive tennis in four days.
Gauff Shows Why She’s the Defending Champion
You’d think four days off might leave someone a little rusty, right? Wrong. Gauff looked like she’d been playing matches every day, dispatching Bronzetti with the kind of clinical precision that made her a Grand Slam champion. The American’s aggressive style was on full display, though she admitted afterward that she got “a little passive” at times. A little passive? Please. She hit 23 winners to Bronzetti’s measly 7.
The match started with Gauff jumping out to a commanding 3-0 lead in the first set, because apparently she had places to be. Sure, she dropped serve in the fifth game, but bounced back immediately to wrap up the opener in 33 minutes. Classic Gauff. Give the crowd a tiny scare, then remind everyone why she is ranked where she is.
Second Set Drama That Wasn’t Really Drama
The second set followed a similar script, with Gauff taking an early 2-0 lead before Bronzetti briefly threatened to make this a contest. The Italian managed to break back and even had a break point at 2-2, but sent her backhand return sailing long. Ouch. That has to sting when you are facing someone who has already proven she can win this tournament.
Bronzetti, to her credit, had been playing some solid tennis to reach this stage. The World No. 61 had taken down seeds Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko in previous rounds, both in grueling three-set battles. But this wasn’t those matches. This was Gauff’s house, and she was serving eviction notices.
Serving Issues? What Serving Issues?
Here’s where things get interesting. Gauff had been struggling with double faults recently. She had 43 of them in just three matches in Montreal last week. Yikes. Even against Wang Xinyu in her Cincinnati opener, she coughed up eight double faults. But against Bronzetti? Just three. That is her lowest total since the French Open semifinals, where she hit only two against Lois Boisson. It is almost like she saved her best serving performance for when it mattered. Revolutionary concept.
The Road Ahead For Tennis’s Rising Star
Next up is either seventh seed Jasmine Paolini or former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. It would be a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon final, no less. Either opponent would provide a stiffer test than what Bronzetti offered, but Gauff has to feel confident after this performance.
“The balls are super light and they fly, and she wasn’t giving me much pace,” Gauff explained post-match, basically confirming what anyone watching could see. Bronzetti’s defensive style was not going to trouble someone who just won the French Open a few months ago.
Cincinnati Continues To Be Her Happy Place
This marks Gauff’s fifth quarterfinal appearance at either a WTA 1000 event or Grand Slam this year out of 10 tournaments played. Not a bad conversion rate for someone who is still just 20 years old. Her 2-0 head-to-head record against Bronzetti never looked in danger of changing.
The 2023 champion looked every bit like someone ready to defend her title, moving with purpose and hitting with conviction. After her French Open triumph earlier this year, Gauff seems to have found another gear in her game. The question now is whether anyone left in the draw can match her intensity when the stakes get higher.
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