Coco Gauff secured her place in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open by defeating Maria Sakkari. Despite losing her first game in the Miami Open after a dominant first match, Gauff overcame a tougher challenge from Sakkari on Saturday.
The No.3 seed, Gauff, won against Sakkari with scores of 6-2, 6-4 in their tenth career match. This victory follows Gauff`s recent win over Sakkari at Indian Wells earlier in March, where she won 7-6 (1), 6-2. Their head-to-head record now stands even at 5-5.
Reflecting on her previous dominant win, Gauff mentioned she consciously tried not to dwell on it.
“I knew this match would be different,” Gauff told reporters. “Such straightforward matches are rare. I focused on approaching this match as a new challenge.”
She applied the same mindset to her recent victory over Sakkari in Indian Wells.
“While you might wish for an identical repeat of a previous win, it’s unrealistic to expect your opponent to play the same way after a loss. And Sakkari adapted her game this time.”
“I felt Sakkari played better today, and I also believe I improved my own game since Indian Wells, which made the difference.”
Gauff, recently turned 21, is the youngest player to achieve consecutive Round of 16 appearances at the Miami Open since Garbiñe Muguruza in 2012-2013. This year she equals her best Miami Open result, also reached in 2022 and 2024.
For Sakkari, missing a crucial overhead on match point added to her recent string of disappointments.
Sakkari, who was ranked in the Top 10 last September, is currently ranked No. 51 in the WTA rankings. Coming off a win against Lucia Bronzetti, she aimed to secure her first consecutive wins since the Paris Olympics last year, and her first on hard courts since last year`s Miami Open.
Sakkari has lost 12 of her last 13 matches against Top 10 opponents.
Gauff is set to face Magda Linette in the Round of 16 on Monday. Linette advanced by defeating qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova.
Rupert Caldwell