MIAMI — It`s worth noting that in the Miami Open, Coco Gauff faced her first lost game of the tournament on the fourth day of competition.
Following her initial match where she achieved a double bagel victory of 6-0, 6-0 against Sofia Kenin in just 47 minutes, Maria Sakkari, a familiar opponent, presented a significantly tougher challenge on Saturday.
Ultimately, Gauff, seeded No. 3, secured a 6-2, 6-4 win in their tenth career meeting. Gauff had previously defeated Sakkari earlier in March at Indian Wells, 7-6 (1), 6-2. Their head-to-head record now stands even at 5-5.
Despite the confidence boost from her dominant first match, Gauff mentioned she intentionally tried not to dwell on it.
“I anticipated this match being more challenging,” she told reporters. “I didn’t want to overthink the previous result because such one-sided matches are rare. I focused on approaching this match as a fresh start.”
She applied a similar mindset regarding her recent win against Sakkari in Indian Wells.
“Naturally, you`d prefer to replicate a successful strategy to achieve the same outcome,” Gauff explained. “However, any astute opponent will adjust their approach after a loss. And Sakkari did play differently this time.”
“I do believe Sakkari performed better today. I also feel I played at a higher level compared to Indian Wells, and that made the difference.”
Gauff, recently turning 21, is the youngest player to reach the Round of 16 in consecutive Miami Opens since Garbiñe Muguruza in 2012-2013 and has now matched her best result here, achieved in both 2022 and 2024.
For Sakkari, a missed overhead shot on match point added to her recent string of disappointments.
Sakkari, who was ranked in the Top 10 as recently as September, has now fallen to No. 51 in the PIF WTA Rankings. After her victory over Lucia Bronzetti in the first round, Sakkari aimed to achieve consecutive match wins for the first time since the Paris Olympics last year and for the first time on hard courts since the previous Miami Open.
She has now lost 12 of her last 13 encounters against Top 10 players.
Gauff is set to face Magda Linette, who overcame qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova, in the Round of 16 on Monday.
