Coco Gauff’s title defense at the China Open remains alive — but only after fending off a supreme challenge from Leylah Fernandez. The No. 2 seed led by a set and a break, then 5-2 with a match point in the decider, but ultimately needed 2 hours and 45 minutes to gut out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 third-round victory.
Beijing: Scores | Draws | Order of play
Gauff had not dropped a set to Fernandez in two previous professional encounters, both on hard courts, and one junior meeting. Those matches had been characterized by the Canadian’s inability to maintain the offensive level needed to hit through Gauff for an entire set.
That changed in a Diamond Court barnburner which saw Fernandez deliver high-quality front-foot tennis for almost three hours. At times, she even gave Gauff a taste of her own medicine with remarkable defense. However, the defending champion rose to the challenge in style. After a knife-edge start to the third set which saw five consecutive service breaks, she pulled away — and then, despite Fernandez pegging her back and threatening to pull off a remarkable comeback, Gauff held her nerve in the final two games of the match.
Gauff will face either No. 15 seed Belinda Bencic or qualifier Priscilla Hon in the last 16.
More to come…