Gauff cruises into Cincinnati round of 16
American Coco Gauff defeated compatriot Ann Li in two sets to reach the round of 16 in Cincinnati, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk beat Sloane Stephens.
World number four Coco Gauff continued her strong run at the Cincinnati tournament, defeating American Ann Li 6:1, 7:6 in the third round. Li had recently climbed to eighth place in the world rankings, but Gauff, 22, entered the match as a clear favorite, with bookmakers offering odds of just 1.13 on her victory.
While the first set was largely one-sided in Gauff's favor, the second proved far more competitive. She had to fight back from trailing 3:5 before dominating the tiebreak to close out the set 7:3.
Match statistics
Gauff outperformed her opponent across nearly every statistical category, winning 68% of first-serve points compared to Li's 57%, and 58% of second-serve points against Li's 43%. She also led in total points won, 80 to 62, and converted break points more efficiently, winning 4 of 10 chances compared to Li's 2 of 5. Aces and double faults stood at 6-6 and 3-4 respectively.
The win extended Gauff's head-to-head record against Li to 4-0. This marks her sixth appearance at the Cincinnati tournament, where her best result remains the title she won in 2023.
Ukrainian players' results
The tournament also saw developments involving Ukraine's leading players. Ukraine's top-ranked player, Elina Svitolina, withdrew from her third-round match due to an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Ukraine's second-ranked player, Marta Kostyuk, defeated American Sloane Stephens 7:5, 7:5. Stephens had previously reached as high as third place in the world rankings.
