Tennis: Coco Gauff ousts Eva Lys in China Open quarter

Coco Gauff defeated Eva Lys 6-3, 6-4 to make the semi-finals of the China Open on Thursday (2 October).

The USA tennis star continued her title defence with an impressive victory in the quarter-finals, having to fight hard in her first meeting with the rising German to book her place in the final four.

Gauff has an enticing semi-final in store in Beijing, where she takes on a two-time Grand Slam finalist in either Jasmine Paolini or Amanda Anisimova. It will be the third time that the 21-year-old has reached this stage of the WTA 1000 tournament.

"She's a tough opponent, she hit some incredible shots on the run," Gauff said of her opponent post-match. "I was trying my best to stay aggressive. Just staying confident in my game and not being too passive when I have the lead."

The reigning Roland-Garros champion came through just under an hour and a half in straight sets, though it was no easy task against a player who just ousted another top 10 player in Elena Rybakina.

Gauff came out of the blocks firing with a first serve points percentage twice that of Lys’ in the opening set. The American was just as offensive on her return, winning 9 of 13 points on first return as she sealed a triple break, albeit conceding a double break herself.

A testing first set remained in Gauff’s grasp as she counteracted Lys’ serve and got on the board in 37 minutes. World no. 66 Lys was finding her moments and defending well, though Gauff was on her A-game and serving at 74 per cent throughout.

The fifth game of the second set proved crucial for Gauff, who picked her moment to break at 3-2 for her fourth converted break point. A Gauff double fault did allow Lys to break back, and just as she was settling down, the German suffered a double break of her own as the second seed saw out the win.

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