Magda Linette on cloud nine as she secures ‘huge achievement’ after ousting Coco Gauff in Miami
Magda Linette knocked out error-strewn Coco Gauff to advance to her second WTA 1000 quarterfinals at the Miami Open.
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Coco Gauff, Magda Linette (Image via X/TNT Sports, Magda Linette Fanpage)
It seems Coco Gauff will have to wait for her first singles title in Miami. On Monday (March 24), it was Magda Linette who played better than Gauff to come out on top with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-4, and move into the quarterfinals.
The Polish woman has now advanced to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the second time in her career following the Wuhan Open last year, where she had lost to Gauff in straight sets. Her victory over the American was also her first top-10 win since her win against Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 Beijing Open.
Beating Coco for the first time is a huge achievement for me. She’s so tough. Even on her worst days, she’s so tough. Thank you so much everyone for making this atmosphere so nice.
Magda Linette said during her on-court interview
The victory has made the 33-year-old the second-oldest player to win a WTA 1000 match over a top 5 player following Hsieh Su-wei in Dubai. Linette has also become the third oldest WTA player in this century to progress to the quarterfinals at Miami Gardens after Mirjana Lucic and Su-wei.
Magda Linette reveals how she knocked out Coco Gauff
It was Magda Linette’s first win over Coco Gauff in their three head-to-head meetings. She also achieved her best result this season as prior to the Miami Open, she could reach just one quarterfinal, in the Abu Dhabi Open, which she lost to Linda Noskova. Following the match, Linette revealed the strategy she used to upset the home favorite.
Everybody shows her matches so you kind of see when she has a little bit weaker days. I think it was really important for me to keep pressing Coco’s serves to make sure she feels the pressure. I’m glad that I was returning well. I was really brave. Then I was able to back it up with pretty solid service games.
Magda Linette said during her on-court interview
Her next opponent is Jasmine Paolini, who, like Linette, ousted a Grand Slam champion. It was four-time Major winner Naomi Osaka against whom the Italian came from a set down to secure a berth in the last eight.
Linette has met Paolini thrice and edges her in the head-to-head meetings, winning two of those matches. They previously clashed at the Birmingham Classic in 2023, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 2024 Beijing Open.
Coco Gauff reflects on her match
Coco Gauff didn’t have a great campaign in the first event of Sunshine Double as Belinda Bencic got the better of her in the fourth round. She then started her Miami Open campaign in an emphatic fashion, registering a double bagel against second-round opponent Sofia Kenin before she breezed past Maria Sakkari.
In the match against Magda Linette, however, Gauff served seven double faults in the first set and registered 12 overall. She made a total of 45 unforced errors throughout the match. Although she tried to make a comeback in the second set, her mistakes kept her on the back foot and eventually, she failed to turn the table, as Linette didn’t let the opportunities slip by.
It wasn’t great today. It hasn’t been the last few weeks. I’m trying to figure that out. Definitely not happy about it…just one of those days when I felt awful in everything on the court.
Coco Gauff said at the press conference
Gauff hasn’t yet won a title this season, last winning a singles trophy at the 2024 WTA Finals. She also hasn’t progressed to a singles final and her best performance came in the Australian Open when she reached the quarterfinals. After the Major event, she registered two consecutive defeats in Doha and Dubai.
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