Eight break points, none converted
Coco Gauff beat Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-2 in Cincinnati on Wednesday night and reached the quarterfinals. The scoreline reads comfortably. The match did not play that way.
Bouzkova dragged the fourth seed into long games from the opening ball. The first two games alone took 15 minutes. In each of the first four games the server faced multiple break points. Gauff erased three in the opening game with an ace and two backhand winners, then broke for 3-1 with a backhand pass and closed the set with a love hold and 19 winners already behind her.
She faced eight break points across the match and saved all eight. She never lost her serve. Gauff has now done that twice this season, having also held every service game in her Wimbledon first-round win over Tamara Korpatsch.
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Attack, and keep attacking
Gauff spent the night at the net. She finished with 30 winners in 1 hour and 33 minutes, closing on a smash after double-faulting on her first match point and ripping a forehand winner to earn a second.
“I was being really aggressive and going for my shots, coming forward, not giving her an opportunity to counter punch,” she said on court. “She’s a very good baseliner and can hit a lot of balls back and forth, so I was trying to make sure to stay aggressive.”
The result puts her in select company. Gauff becomes the third player of the Open Era to reach three or more Cincinnati quarterfinals before turning 23, alongside Linda Tuero and Sania Mirza. She is also the youngest player to make back-to-back quarterfinals at this event since Elina Svitolina in 2014 and 2015. The win was her second over Bouzkova in four meetings.
Kostyuk next, and a wide-open draw
Marta Kostyuk stands in the way of a semifinal place. The Ukrainian came from a set down to beat Mirra Andreeva and reach her first Cincinnati quarterfinal. Gauff leads the head-to-head 3-2, though Kostyuk took their most recent meeting in Doha in 2025.
“She’s a tough player, very athletic, can play aggressive and also move really well,” Gauff said. “I just have to bring my best tennis, and it’ll be a good match.”
The half of the draw above them lost its anchor a few hours later, when Sara Bejlek knocked out top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Nobody left in this tournament can point at a favourite.
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