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American Coco Gauff serves against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during a women's singles quarterfinal at the 2026 Miami Open on Tuesday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 24 (UPI) -- Coco Gauff lost momentum, but summoned sensational court coverage skills to rally past Belinda Bencic on Tuesday in a Miami Open quarterfinal.
The top-ranked American (No. 4) trailed her No. 12 Swiss counterpart 3-2 in the final set, but went on to sweep the last four games, including two break-point conversions, for the gritty victory in Miami Gardens, Fla.
"It was a tough match physically, I think for both of us," Gauff said on the Tennis Channel broadcast after the 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 triumph. "I don't know how I got through it."
Gauff will continue her deepest run at the tournament with a semifinal meeting with No. 14 Karolina Muchova of Czechia.
"I didn't think I'd be in the semis, so I'm really happy and proud of myself," Gauff said. "I think I proved a lot with myself this week. I feel like with each match, I'm getting better."
Gauff held a 6-3 edge in aces, but logged four double faults, compared to Bencic's zero in the 2-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal. She attempted to harness her revamped serve throughout the match, while Bencic used a technical approach to limit her power and ability to stretch the court.
Gauff held her first two serves and broke Bencic's first for a quick 3-0 advantage. Bencic fended off a break point in the fourth game and broke Gauff in the fifth to tighten the match at 3-2. But Gauff struck again, converting her second break point of the match. She proceeded to hold serve in the seventh and ninth games to win the set, inching closer to the semifinals.
But Bencic rallied, breaking Gauff twice en route to a 6-1 triumph in the second set, tying the match.
Gauff and Bencic each held through the first four games of the final set. An errant Gauff return handed Bencic a break point in the fifth game for her first lead of the night.
Gauff responded with her own break to equalize. She then held serve and never trailed again. She broke Bencic a fourth and final time in the eighth game and won match point with a forehand swipe into open court as she caught her foe out of position.
Earlier Tuesday, Muchova beat No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada 7-5, 7-6(5) in the opening women's singles quarterfinal. The final two quarterfinals will take place Wednesday in Miami Gardens.
No. 5 Jessica Pegula of the United States will first meet No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will battle No. 45 Hailey Baptiste in the last quarterfinal Wednesday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
On the men's circuit, No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy dispatched No. 40 Alex Michelsen of the United States 7-5, 7-6(4) in a Round of 16 match.
Sinner will meet No. 20 Frances Tiafoe of the United States in the quarterfinals. Tiafoe beat No. 53 Terence Atmane of France 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in his Round of 16 match.
No. 23 Tommy Paul of the United States also advanced to the quarterfinals through a straight-sets victory over No. 32 Tomas Etcheverry of Argentina.
Paul will battle No. 31 Arthur Fils of France in another quarterfinal. The Frenchman beat No. 25 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 in his Round of 16 match.
No. 22 Jiri Lehecka of Czechia ousted the top-ranked American on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2 victory over No. 7 Taylor Fritz. Lehecka will meet No. 151 Martin Landaluce of Spain in the quarterfinals. Landaluce bounced American Sebastian Korda (No. 36), who previously upset top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, through a 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 Round of 16 triumph.
Rybakina and Pegula are scheduled to clash in their quarterfinal at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday in Miami Gardens. Landaluce will meet Lehekca in the first men's quarterfinal after that match on the same court. The Sabalenka-Baptiste and Paul-Fils matches also are scheduled for Wednesday at Hard Rock Stadium.
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