The Beijing hard courts thrummed with the sharp crack of strings as Coco Gauff, fresh off her French Open glory and defending champion here, locked horns with Leylah Fernandez in a duel that stretched every fiber of endurance. The American's explosive baseline game clashed against the Canadian's sly angles, the ball tracing urgent paths crosscourt and inside-out under a sky heavy with seasonal expectations. Gauff carved out the first set 6-4, her deep returns forcing errors, but the match's true pulse quickened as fatigue and tactics intertwined, turning routine points into battles of will.
Second-set shift exposes tactical cracks
Fernandez pounced in the second, her underspin slices skimming low and pulling Gauff wide, disrupting the rhythm that had carried the defender through earlier rounds. The crowd, a vocal wave of support for their favorite, hushed as Gauff's forehand faltered on the acrylic surface, yielding the set 4-6 after a break at 4-5. This stumble echoed the grind of a long WTA season, where poise under pressure separates contenders from champions, yet it sparked a recalibration—Gauff tightening her one–two combinations to reclaim court control.
Third-set nerve seals gritty advance
The decider uncoiled into a taut standoff, serves holding firm through 11 games as both traded down-the-line lasers and crosscourt probes that tested footwork on the swift courts. Gauff twice teetered serving for the match at 5-4, deuces mounting amid creeping errors, but Fernandez's resilience kept her in the hunt with crafty passing shots. In the 12th, the break came on a forehand winner inside-in, clinching 7-5 and sending the American through, her fist pump cutting through the electric air—a testament to growth forged in high-stakes fire.
Gauff now eyes No. 16 Belinda Bencic, who outlasted Australian Priscilla Hon 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in her own three-setter, the Swiss player's all-court steadiness promising a tactical chess match in this WTA 1000 showcase. Earlier ripples shook the women's draw: Eva Lys toppled No. 10 Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, her bold returns exploiting second-serve wobbles on the hard stuff. American McCartney Kessler progressed when Barbora Krejcikova retired at 1-6, 7-5, 3-0, navigating injury's cruel interruptions amid the tournament's concurrent ATP 500 men's event.
Men's side simmers with redemption arcs
Across the nets, a day after becoming the
latest tennis star to make an apology to Chinese fans, Lorenzo Musetti steadied with a clean 6-3, 6-3 win over tour veteran Adrian Mannarino, his one-handed backhand carving through defenses like a well-timed slice. Learner Tien surged past Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2, earning a quarterfinal date with the ninth seed, the young American's aggression hinting at upsets in Beijing's layered brackets. Third-ranked Alexander Zverev grinded down Corentin Moutet 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, positioning for a showdown with
Daniil Medvedev that could ignite the men's draw further.
As the China Open pulses onward, Gauff's hard-fought path mirrors the tour's unforgiving tempo—where adjustments amid pressure not only defend titles but build unbreakable momentum for the stretch run.
