Gauff Falls on Tough Day for Americans in Miami
Coco Gauff lost to unseeded Magda Linette 6-4 6-4 on Monday as she missed out on a place in the Miami Open quarter-finals after a tough day for Americans as holder Danielle Collins, Amanda Anisimova and Ashlyn Krueger also went out in straight sets.
Gauff, seeded third, struggled mightily with her serve, committing 12 double faults and putting just half of her first serves into play while unforced errors piled up against her 34th-ranked Polish opponent.
Linette held her nerve as the South Florida crowd came alive after Gauff pulled ahead 4-3 in the second set and the Pole ultimately prevailed to notch her first win over a top-three player since 2021.
“It was really important for me to keep pressing Coco’s serve to make sure she feels the pressure,” Linette said.
Next up for Linette is Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, who beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka 3-6 6-4 6-4 earlier on Monday.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka crushed 23 winners including seven aces to overpower defending champion Collins 6-4 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals where she will meet Zheng Qinwen, who beat Krueger 6-2 7-6(3) in their round of 16 match.
World number one Sabalenka will be a heavy favorite against Zheng, who has never beaten the Belarusian in five previous career meetings.
Former champion Iga Swiatek came through a tight first set before dispatching Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 7-6(5) 6-3 shortly after midnight, the Pole signed off by writing “time to sleep” on a camera lens.
Up next for the world number two is Alexandra Eala after the 19-year-old Filipino wildcard advanced when 10th seed Paula Badosa pulled out of their fourth-round meeting with a lower back injury.
Jessica Pegula was left to fly the flag for the US women after she won the final six games of her match to see off Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-3.
