Gauff races the curfew into Wimbledon quarters
Coco Gauff turned late-match nerves and a ticking clock into a service winner that carried her past Belinda Bencic and into her first Wimbledon quarterfinal against Jessica Pegula.
Coco Gauff recovered from dropping the opening set to defeat Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday and reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. The American had waited through four prior fourth-round exits at the All England Club before this step forward. Grass rewarded sharper serve placement and selective inside-out forehands once the second set began.
Curfew forces serve and volley adjustment
By 10:58 p.m. local time the scoreboard showed two minutes left before the 11 p.m. curfew. Gauff converted her first match point with a service winner out wide then tapped her left wrist with the fingers on her right hand. A break would have suspended the match and stretched the mental load into Monday.
“Super happy to be in the quarters, finally,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I was looking at the clock the last service game. I was like, ‘I got to hit some big serves and some big shots.' And honestly, that match point, I was going for a serve and volley because I was like, ‘I need to end the point.'” The tension echoed Kawhi Leonard‘s shot for the Toronto Raptors in 2019 that bounced off the rim four times before becoming the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in NBA history. Gauff, who played basketball as a kid, added she “did not hit any buzzer-beaters.”
The 22-year-old became the youngest American woman to reach the quarterfinals at each of the Grand Slams since Serena Williams did so at 19 years old at the 2001 French Open. She has now won 17 major matches after losing the first set and improved to 23-7 in three-setters at majors, the third-best record by any woman in the Open era after Steffi Graf and Wendy Turnbull. Inside-in forehands pulled opponents wide and opened space for down-the-line winners on the low bounce.
Flat hitters shape all American clash
With the win, Gauff set up an all-American quarterfinal clash with No. 4 Jessica Pegula, who defeated fellow American Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 earlier Sunday. It will be the first all-American ladies’ match at Wimbledon between top-10 seeds since the 2009 final between Serena and Venus Williams. “It will be the third flat hitter I’ve played in a row,” Gauff said. “The last two matches I’ve had definitely gave me prep for her.”
Pegula’s match against the 18-year-old Jovic featured a combined 13 breaks, including seven in the opening set. Pegula has won 34 of her past 37 matches against her American compatriots, dating to October 2023; her only losses in that span came against occasional doubles partner Gauff and Madison Keys. Pegula will be making her second career appearance in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Gauff expects the same 1–2 pattern that succeeded against Iva Jovic yet believes recent matches supplied direct rehearsal for low-bouncing returns.
Early exits guarantee new champion
Also on Sunday, Barbora Krejcikova‘s loss to Karolina Muchova ensured the tournament will crown a new women’s champion. Krejcikova, the 2024 winner, was the only former champion left in the women’s draw after Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Serena Williams all went out earlier. Muchova will play 14th-seeded Naomi Osaka, who knocked out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2) on Centre Court.
Gauff, who reached the fourth round four times in her Wimbledon career including during her breakthrough run as a 15-year-old in 2019, now stands one step further. “I’m definitely hungry for more. But it’s a great accomplishment,” she said. No woman has won multiple Wimbledon titles since Serena Williams won her seventh in 2016, guaranteeing a 10th different women’s champion in the past 10 Wimbledons. Both players understand that grass rewards early ball striking and precise serve placement more than any other surface, turning minor tactical tweaks into decisive edges.