A day after ousting Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff needed three hours and 11 minutes to edge Aryna Sabalenka as top seed Iga Swiatek exited Toronto with a shock defeat to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Gauff needed a third-set tie-break before defeating No 6 seed Sabalenka 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-4) to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals for a second year in a row.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence because I know I can tough it out in those tough moments,” said Gauff, who will next face Simona Halep, who beat Jil Teichmann 6-2 7-5. “These are the type of players that I need to have to beat if I want to win a Grand Slam.
“So these matches are giving me more confidence. And I know how it feels in those moments against these players. They’re not going to give you anything and you shouldn’t expect that.”
With the win over Sabalenka, the…
