With Wimbledon’s 11PM curfew looming, Coco Gauff doubled up on her ambition, hit two targets with one courageous service game, and exited Centre Court with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2025 semifinalist Belinda Bencic.
Gauff, known for her third-set prowess and a proclivity for resisting fatigue, won her third consecutive three-setter at the Championships and reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
It was a dramatic finish, with the clock about to strike 11PM, and tournament organizers notifying the players that the tenth game of the third set would be the final game, regardless of its outcome.
“I was looking at the clock, the last service game, so I was like, ‘I gotta hit some big serves and some big shots,’” Gauff said. “Honestly, that match point I was going for serv-and-volley because I was like, ‘I need to end the point – that was probably the most dramatic finish I’ve ever had.”
Gauff started her Wimbledon career at the age of 15 by making the second week, but in the intervening years she had never progressed further – until today.
She improved to 24-7 lifetime in three-setters in the majors, the third-best winning percentage of all women in the Open Era, and is now 12-11 when dropping the first set at the majors since the start of 2023. The grueling moments are the American’s jam.
She is 18-3 overall in Grand Slam deciding sets since the start of 2023.
“I made the fourth round on my first time playing, so it’s been a couple years, but I’m definitely happy with this result,” she said. “I definitely feel like this was my best match so far in the tournament.”
Gauff will face Jessica Pegula in an all-American quarterfinal on Tuesday at Wimbledon.
