Online Reporter
TORONTO — For the first time in three years, World No. 4 Coco Gauff is back into the quarterfinals at the National Bank Open.
With a 6-3, 6-1 win over teenage qualifier Alina Korneeva, Gauff secures her spot in the final eight in Toronto. After debuting at the event in Montreal 2021, Gauff had a string of three consecutive quarterfinal appearances from 2021-23, but for the past two years, the Round of 16 had been the barrier she couldn’t pass. The win moves Gauff into her seventh WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz quarterfinal of 2026 and her 25th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal. The 22-year-old next meets No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic, who defeated Alexandra Eala
6-4, 6-0 in the night session match on Sunday. Gauff has yet to drop set in Toronto, and Sunday’s four dropped games in the fewest she’s had in her first three matches.
As for Korneeva, it was her first-ever matchup against a top 10 opponent. She had entered off her biggest wins of her career, having upset No. 23 seed Emma Navarro
and No. 13 seed Iva Jovic
Though the day went in favour of Gauff, Gauff said Korneeva reminded her a lot of fellow American Jessica Pegula in terms of her return game and demeanour, adding that the scoreline didn’t indicate the difficulty of the match.
“I feel like she gets a lot of returns back,” Gauff said. “Kind of reminds me of Jess of just how much consistency she could have with the return.
“Then also I think just her demeanour. Like, she doesn’t get upset. I didn’t see her get upset at all, even maybe when she wasn’t playing great at some moments, or sometimes I just hit like good shots.
“I felt like she’s a pretty good mover, she can get to a lot of balls. She has good hands. She likes to come forward. I think there’s a lot of things she does well on the court, and she will definitely be someone that would be a threat to me and other players in the future.”
“It’s something I think about sometimes,” Gauff said on the age aspect. “I think because people made my age such a thing when I was younger, I feel like, if anything, I don’t take their age for granted.
“Sometimes I felt people on tour when I was younger took me for granted because of my age, and that’s how I was able to sneak a lot of wins sometimes. Because I had that experience, I know not to take their age for granted.” —WTA.
