Coco Gauff reaches last eight at Cincinnati Open
The two players had progressed to the last 16 in contrasting ways, with Gauff having won her only match in straight sets before a walkover against Dayana Yastremska in last round.
Bronzetti, on the other hand, had come through in three sets in her previous three rounds and the world number 61 quickly found herself 3-0 down.
Gauff was broken in the fifth game but it proved a brief blip as she went on to win the opening set in 33 minutes.
The American went 2-0 up in the second set but suffered another lapse when she was broken to love by the Italian in the third game.
Bronzetti raised her game and had a break point at 2-2, only to send a backhand return long as Gauff managed to hold.
The second set was a more competitive affair but Bronzetti double-faulted twice when serving to stay in the match and Gauff went on to break and secure victory.
"For the most part I played aggressive," said Gauff, who won the Cincinnati Open in 2023 before going on to win the US Open that year.
"Maybe there were a couple that were a little bit passive in some of those games but it's tough - the balls are super light and she wasn't giving me much pace.
"I was just trying to play controlled but also aggressive and, for the most part, I think I did well."
Gauff will play the winner of the match between Italian Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova of
the Czech Republic in the next round, according to a BBC news
UNI BM
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
22 minutes ago
- NDTV
Aryna Sabalenka And Coco Gauff Crash Out In Cincinnati Open As Carlos Alcaraz Survives To Reach Semis
World number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday as Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain's second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner and will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev, who brought fifth-seeded Toronto champion Ben Shelton's run to an end with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Zverev earned a 4-1 lead in the second set as Shelton angrily tossed his racquet on the changeover, and the 2021 champion polished off the win on a second match point. He now has 24 hours to try to get fit. "I'm not feeling too great now, but I have a day to get fresh," Zverev said. "I hope to be at 100%. "I'm not sure what happened. I felt very well, but at the end of the first set, it got progressively worse. But I'll do all I can to give it a shot tomorrow." Alcaraz was broken while serving for victory at 5-4 in the final set against 11th-ranked Rublev, but he found his focus and used his trademark grit to come through three games later. He sealed the triumph as an emotional Rublev hit an eighth double-fault on match point. "I maintained the positive thoughts even if I lost focus a bit in the second set," said Alcaraz, whose five titles so far this year include the French Open as well as Masters 1000 trophies in Monte Carlo and Rome. - Rybakina revenge - Rybakina fired 11 aces en route to a fifth career victory over Sabalenka in 12 meetings. She avenged a loss to the Belarusian in Berlin two months ago and booked a semi-final meeting with Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek -- a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Anna Kalinskaya. Rybakina was aided by 11 aces as she reached her first Cincinnati semi-final. "I'm happy with the serve. It was the key today," Rybakina said. "I served really well." "If she had been serving well, it would have been a totally different match," she acknowledged. Rybakina has won her last three matches against Swiatek, all played this season. But Swiatek was feeling confident after downing Kalinskaya in what she called "the best match I played here." "I'm happy that I'm progressing during the tournament," Swiatek said. Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, had looked well on her way after a quick first set against Paolini. But her mistakes caught up with her as she was broken eight times by the Italian, who overcame plenty of errors of her own as well as a twisted ankle suffered early in the third set. "It was so tough at the start, I was running and trying to put the ball inside the court," Paolini said. "I started to feel the ball better." "I fought for every point and stayed in the match," added the Italian, who will face Veronika Kudermetova for a place in the final. Kudermetova crushed Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Late Salah, Chiesa goals give Liverpool 4-2 win over Bournemouth in thrilling Premier League opener
Liverpool talisman Mo Salah and substitute Federico Chiesa struck late goals as the Premier League champions began the defence of their title by beating Bournemouth 4-2 in a thriller on the opening night of the season at Anfield on Friday (August 15, 2025). On a bittersweet evening charged with emotion after the July death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, newcomer Hugo Ekitike bagged a goal on his league debut to put the hosts ahead after 37 minutes and Cody Gakpo doubled the lead in the 49th. But Antoine Semenyo, who was the target of racist abuse in the first half that led to a pause in the game, pulled one back for the visitors in the 64th minute and completed a double 12 minutes later to rock Liverpool and shock the home fans. However, Chiesa came off the bench and sent the Anfield faithful away happy with an 88th-minute strike after goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic swatted away a ball into the box by Salah, who scored himself deep into added time to wrap up the three points. "Fantastic," Liverpool boss Arne Slot said of Italian forward Chiesa's goal. "He came in in the end because we needed a goal. For him then to score in such a moment is special. "It's even more special because the fans have supported him. It's nice he gives them something in return with a great goal." With Liverpool ahead again, Salah chased the ball past the defence before cutting inside and firing into the bottom corner with a 94th-minute goal that put the Egyptian joint-fourth with Andy Cole on the all-time Premier League scorers' list with 187. An emotional Salah pointed to the heavens and flapped two hands to mimic Jota's shark goal celebration. He headed for The Kop stand after the final whistle, and wiped away tears while applauding the fans who were singing their Jota song to the tune of "Bad Moon Rising." Jota tribute The night started with an emotional minute's silence for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who died in a car crash. Fans fought back tears as they sang "You'll Never Walk Alone." Ekitike, who has joined from Eintracht Frankfurt, was the most impressive of Slot's close-season signings in a spending spree topping 300 million pounds ($406.53 million). "Obviously I think it was a good performance, I could do better," said the French forward -- who held up two fingers in one hand, and made a zero with the other in a tribute to Liverpool's Jota, who wore number 20 -- after his goal. "But the most important thing was winning, the mentality we showed. Obviously we wanted to win tonight for the people who came and for Diogo," added the 23-year-old forward. Racist abuse The game was halted for several minutes after Bournemouth's Ghana international Semenyo reported the racist abuse. "It's totally unacceptable," Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said. "Kind of in shock to be honest that it happened. In this day and age it shouldn't be happening. "I don't know how Ant's played on to be honest and come up with those goals ... Something has to be done. We'll support him in there and hopefully he'll be ok."
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Cincinnati Open tennis: Sabalenka and Gauff crash out as Alcaraz survives to reach semifinals
World number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday (August 15, 2025) as Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain's second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner and will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev, who brought fifth-seeded Toronto champion Ben Shelton's run to an end with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Zverev earned a 4-1 lead in the second set as Shelton angrily tossed his racquet on the changeover, and the 2021 champion polished off the win on a second match point. He now has 24 hours to try to get fit. 'I'm not feeling too great now, but I have a day to get fresh,' Zverev said. 'I hope to be at 100%. 'I'm not sure what happened. I felt very well, but at the end of the first set, it got progressively worse. But I'll do all I can to give it a shot tomorrow.' Alcaraz was broken while serving for victory at 5-4 in the final set against 11th-ranked Rublev, but he found his focus and used his trademark grit to come through three games later. He sealed the triumph as an emotional Rublev hit an eighth double-fault on match point. 'I maintained the positive thoughts even if I lost focus a bit in the second set,' said Alcaraz, whose five titles so far this year include the French Open as well as Masters 1000 trophies in Monte Carlo and Rome. Rybakina revenge Rybakina fired 11 aces en route to a fifth career victory over Sabalenka in 12 meetings. She avenged a loss to the Belarusian in Berlin two months ago and booked a semi-final meeting with Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek — a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Anna Kalinskaya. Rybakina was aided by 11 aces as she reached her first Cincinnati semi-final. 'I'm happy with the serve. It was the key today,' Rybakina said. 'I served really well.' 'If she had been serving well, it would have been a totally different match,' she acknowledged. Rybakina has won her last three matches against Swiatek, all played this season. But Swiatek was feeling confident after downing Kalinskaya in what she called 'the best match I played here.' 'I'm happy that I'm progressing during the tournament,' Swiatek said. Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, had looked well on her way after a quick first set against Paolini. But her mistakes caught up with her as she was broken eight times by the Italian, who overcame plenty of errors of her own as well as a twisted ankle suffered early in the third set. 'It was so tough at the start, I was running and trying to put the ball inside the court,' Paolini said. 'I started to feel the ball better.' 'I fought for every point and stayed in the match,' added the Italian, who will face Veronika Kudermetova for a place in the final. Kudermetova crushed Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2.
