Coco Gauff beat Clara Burel 7-5, 6-3 Friday to reach the third round of the China Open. It also will be her first match since the major at the U.S. Open. The sixth-seeded Gauff was in a tight spot in the first set, she saved a set point at 5-4. Next up for her is Britain’s Katie Boulter, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Taylor Townsend of the United States.
The match was part of the round-robin tournament in Beijing, which marks Coco Gauff first event since splitting with coach Brad Gilbert. The pair had been playing together for more than a year and claimed one Grand Slam title during their time together. Coco Gauff lost in the fourth round of her women’s singles title defense at the U.S. Open on Monday to Emma Navarro before arriving at this decision.
Alcaraz and Medvedev Start Well
Men’s No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz was put to the test in his opener, where he beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, a big-serving man from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 6-4, 6-4. Despite his strong serves— a consistent 140 miles per hour (225 kph) from Perricard —Alcaraz converted errors from his opponent into breaks in both sets. Alcaraz said: “The plan was just to return as much as I could… He has a lot of power, so I have to be very focused on myself.”
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia opened with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over French veteran Gael Monfils. A lucky loser in qualifying, Roman Safiullin took down three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4. The Russian will next meet world number nine Jannik Sinner.
The men’s draw saw sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti and seventh-seeded Karen Khachanov advance.
Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka Impress in Women’s Draw
In women’s action, No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula made quick work of her first-round match by beating Diane Parry of France 6-1, 7-6 (4). Pegula earned three breaks of Parry’s serve in the first set and they traded breaks throughout much of the second until Pegula triumphed with a tiebreak. She moves on to meet Veronika Kudermetova, who ousted China’s Wang Xinyu 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka overcame a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Next up, Osaka meets America’s Katie Volynets in the third round.
Masculine, the shaded Emma Navarro was bounced 6-4, 6-2 by China’s Zhang Shuai sixths-seeded. No. 12 seed Diana Shnaider eliminated former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, 6-2, 6-3.
On Saturday, U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will also be in action against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Japan Open Jack Draper Shocks Hubert Hurkacz
Those moved on included second-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who lost in the second round to U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4 at the Japan Open in Tokyo. Where Draper won his match was in that he made 30 unforced errors to just 15 from Hurkacz, which helped do him over — though the Pole otherwise matched the Brit for aces and winners. In the quarterfinals, Draper will play either Brandon Nakashima or Ugo Humbert.
Returning champ Ben Shelton also advanced to the quarters with a 6-4,6-3 win over Mariano Navone. Shelton and Fritz, both of whom had just played the Laver Cup a week earlier after playing for Team World against Europe.
Arthur Fils drew first blood against Matteo Berrettini taking the opening set in a tiebreak only for the Italian to retire injured.
