Coco Gauff is still in the running to defend her title at the China Open in Beijing after a tough win over Leylah Fernandez on Sunday. The American won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a long and physical match that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes.
“I did what I needed to do to win today,” said the 21-year-old. “It was very physical, we kept going back and forth.”
Gauff started strong and took the first set, but Fernandez fought back well to win the second and force a deciding set. The Canadian, ranked 25th in the world, saved a match point at 5-4 in the final set, but Gauff managed to close it out when Fernandez hit the ball into the net.
Gauff will now play either Belinda Bencic from Switzerland or Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon for a place in the quarter-finals.
In the men’s tournament, Italian player Lorenzo Musetti made a public apology on court. This followed an earlier incident during the tournament when he reacted badly to fans coughing. On Sunday, after beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, he addressed the crowd in English.
“First of all, I want to say a public apology. I totally understand your point and I regret what I’ve said and done. So sorry, and thanks for understanding.”
Despite this, the on-court interviewer did not translate Musetti’s apology into Chinese for the local fans and only shared a few of his comments about the match.
Elsewhere in the women’s competition, Germany’s Eva Lys caused a big upset by defeating world number 10 and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. Lys won 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
“I’ve been trying to get a win over a top-10 player all year,” said 23-year-old Lys, who is ranked 66th. “This is my first one. I’m very happy I finally got it done.”
Poland’s Iga Swiatek is the top seed at the WTA 1000 event after world number one Aryna Sabalenka withdrew. In the men’s ATP 500 event, also held in Beijing, Italy’s Jannik Sinner is the top seed.
