Gauff advances to Dubai Round of 16; meets surging Pliskova next
No.3 seed Coco Gauff of the United States advanced to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Round of 16 with a victory over Italian lucky loser Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Gauff will face former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova in the next round.
Gauff defeats Cocciaretto and ends losing streak
Coco Gauff, the reigning US Open champion and No.3 seed, defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto to secure her spot in the Dubai Round of 16. Gauff held off a second-set comeback from Cocciaretto and eventually won the match in 1 hour and 41 minutes. This win puts Gauff at a 2-0 head-to-head record against Cocciaretto.
After facing a tough loss in the Australian Open semifinals against Aryna Sabalenka and being upset by Katerina Siniakova in her Doha opener, Gauff was determined to get back on track. This victory against Cocciaretto marks Gauff's 50th win in her last 51 matches against players ranked outside the Top 50, with her only loss in that span coming from Sofia Kenin in the 2023 Wimbledon first round.
Gauff to face Pliskova in Round of 16
In the next round, Coco Gauff will face Karolina Pliskova, a former World No.1. Pliskova recently battled past Ashlyn Krueger to secure her spot in the Round of 16. Pliskova is currently on an 11-match winning streak and has significantly improved her ranking from No.78 to No.36 in just two weeks.
Although Gauff and Pliskova have split their previous two meetings, this will be their first encounter on a hard court. Pliskova emerged victorious on clay in Madrid in 2021, but Gauff avenged that loss with a straight-sets win on grass in Berlin in 2022. It will be an exciting match to watch.
Ostapenko and Kalinskaya set to meet
In the other end of Gauff's quarter, Jelena Ostapenko secured her spot in the Round of 16 by defeating Lulu Sun in a second-round match. Ostapenko, currently ranked World No.9, has had a strong start to 2024, sharing the tour lead in match-wins with Elena Rybakina. They are also the only players who have won two titles this year.
Ostapenko's next opponent will be Anna Kalinskaya, a qualifier who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this year's Australian Open. Kalinskaya defeated Cristina Bucsa in the second round to set up the meeting with Ostapenko. The two have faced each other before, with Kalinskaya emerging as the winner in last year's Adelaide International 2.
