Seventh-seeded Coco Gauff pulled off a major escape by scoring the final six points of a third-set tiebreaker to register a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7) victory over Argentina’s Solana Sierra in the second round of Wimbledon on Wednesday in London.
Gauff trailed 5-3 in the third set before making her comeback. When Sierra led 5-4 and was serving for the match, Gauff came through with a clutch break.
“When she had to serve for the match I just reminded myself that I’m a great returner as well,” Gauff said. “I was just trying to be positive and I think that showed.”
Then down three in the 10-point tiebreaker, Gauff emerged to avoid an early exit.
Gauff held a 10-0 edge in aces and made just 24 unforced errors compared to Sierra’s 45.
Gauff will face fellow American Claire Liu in the third round on Friday.
No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva wasn’t as fortunate as Czech Barbora Krejcikova produced a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Russian.
Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, had a 38-35 edge in winners in her comeback victory.
She will next face Nikola Bartunkova, who beat No. 32 Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Czech affair.
“Barbora, she’s a Grand Slam champion. I will try my best and you will see,” Bartunkova said.
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had a 7-1 edge in aces while landing a 6-1, 7-6 (9) victory over McCartney Kessler.
Sabalenka said it wasn’t an easy win on the court.
“Incredible level in the second set from her,” Sabalenka said on-court of Kessler. “She really tested me today, and I’m really happy to pass the test … She really stepped in, she played super aggressive. It felt like whatever decisions she would make, it would work for her.”
No. 4 Jessica Pegula advanced with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain.
In other second-round matches, 10th-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova knocked off China’s Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-2, while No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland notched a 7-5, 6-0 victory over China’s Xinyu Wang.
No. 14 Naomi Osaka of Japan cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Anastasia Gasanova of Russia, No. 16 Iva Jovic rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Tatjana Maria of Germany and No. 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia was a 7-5, 7-5 winner over Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand.
No. 19 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia outlasted France’s Diane Parry 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
–Field Level Media
