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Match details
Fixture: (3) Coco Gauff vs (6) Maria Sakkari
Date: October 6, 2023
Tournament: China Open 2023
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $8,127,389
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari preview
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff will take on fellow top 10 player Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals of the 2023 China Open on Friday.
Gauff moved past Ekaterina Alexandrova and Petra Martic to set up a third round date against Veronika Kudermetova. The Russian had won the title in Tokyo last week and was on a six-match winning streak.
Gauff was off to a fast start as she went up 3-0 in the first set. Kudermetova managed to get back on serve, only for the teenager to nab another break to lead 4-2. The Russian then went on a three game run to pull ahead 5-4.
Kudermetova served for the opener at this point and even held four set points, but Gauff fended them off to break her serve. The set soon went into a tie-break, with the American coming out on top to take the set.
With momentum on her side, Gauff cruised through the second set. She jumped to a 4-0 lead and maintained the headstart to notch up a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win and extended her unbeaten run to 15 matches.
Sakkari defeated Linda Fruhvirtova in the second round to advance further. She faced Wang Xinyu for a spot in the last eight. The Greek snagged a break in the eighth game of the first set to go 5-3 up, but failed to take the set in the following game as she lost serve.
Nevertheless, Sakkari broke back in the next game to clinch the set. Wang regrouped to take the second set and level the proceedings. The Greek put herself in the driver's seat courtesy of a break in the third set and won the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari head-to-head
Sakkari leads Gauff 4-2 in the head-to-head. The latter won their most recent encounter at the 2023 Citi Open in straight sets.
Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari prediction
Sakkari fought past Wang to keep her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals afloat. She'll now face the tour's most in-form player in the next round. Gauff displayed her tenacity to wrestle back the first set from Kudermetova and never looked back after that.
While Sakkari has the edge in this rivalry, this new and improved version of Gauff already defeated her a couple of months ago in Washington. The Greek did put up a fight back then, but the teenager got the better of her to win the title.
Both players are known for their athleticism, though it's the mental aspect of things in which Gauff has the upper hand. She has improved her record against top players as well.
Prior to this year, Gauff's win-loss record against top 10 players stood at 7-16. However, she's 6-4 against them this season. Given her form at the moment, she will be favored to make it past Sakkari.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets.
