Coco Gauff saved four set points before beating 16th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Thursday in the third round of the China Open.
The victory extended the third-ranked American’s winning streak to 15 matches, the longest on the WTA Tour this season and a span that includes the Cincinnati title and her US Open victory last month.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve been able to manage,” Gauff said. “I had trouble finding the way I wanted to play in these conditions. I felt like the balls were flying in the first match and playing passive in the second. I’m really happy with how I’ve been able to troubleshoot and problem-solve. Today I played a good match overall.”
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In the quarterfinals, Gauff will face sixth-seeded Shanghai Masters
Stefano Napolitano, who made the main draw after qualifying opponent Marc Polmans was defaulted for hitting the ball into the face of the chair umpire, lost to qualifier Beibit Zhukayev 7-5, 7-5.
Other winners included Rinky Hijikata, Lorenzo Sonego, Aleksandar Vukic, Arthur Fils, Mikhail Kukushkin and Tseng Chun-hsin.
The top 32 seeded players, including Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, received a first-round bye and will play in the second round Saturday.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
