Hilarious scenes at Canadian Open as Coco Gauff trips and almost falls over the net in rush to hug Jessica Pegula after defeat in thrilling clash

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula's thrilling quarterfinal clash at the 2023 Canadian Open ended on a humorous note as Gauff's eagerness to hug Pegula nearly resulted in an unfortunate fall.

On Friday, August 11, Gauff and Pegula faced off in a highly anticipated quarterfinal clash in Montreal. Pegula started the match off strong as she broke the World No. 7's serve twice, taking an early 3-0 lead before ultimately claiming the opening set.

Gauff bounced back strongly, capitalizing on a crucial break point to level the scores and force a decider. However, the 19-year-old's struggles with her serve hindered her in the third set as her ninth double fault came on a crucial break point, which allowed Pegula the opportunity to serve for the match. The World No. 3 then secured a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory to advance to her third consecutive Canadian Open semifinal.

Following their thrilling clash, Gauff's eagerness to hug her doubles partner and close friend Pegula nearly resulted in an accident as she hilariously stumbled over the net. The World No. 3 was quick to steady Gauff and the duo shared a warm hug at the net.

Following their two-hour and 22-minute long encounter, defending champions Gauff and Pegula withdrew from the doubles event at the 2023 Canadian Open, ahead of their quarterfinal clash against seventh seeds Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama.

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"It worked out kind of perfectly today" - Jessica Pegula after defeating Coco Gauff at Canadian Open

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula snapped her four-match losing streak against top 10 players by securing her second win over Coco Gauff in three encounters. Following her win, Pegula divulged her strategy to adopt a proactive approach from the start in order to curtail Gauff's aggressive and powerful playing style.

"Watching her play the last couple of weeks I feel like she’s been coming out really, really fast and getting really good leads and being able to play freely. So obviously it doesn’t always go to plan, but I wanted to stay as tough as possible at the beginning of the first set. I just didn’t want her to be able to free up and start serving really well and ripping and playing super aggressive," Jessica Pegula said.

The World No. 3 was delighted by the flawless execution of her strategy, reiterating her intention to start strong in order to apply pressure on the 19-year-old.

"So it worked out kind of perfectly today. I can’t say that’s always the case. But yeah, I wanted to be very tough the first few games just keep that pressure on really early," she added.

Pegula will take on World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a highly anticipated semifinal clash at the 2023 Canadian Open on Saturday, August 12. The top seed defeated Danielle Collins 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to book her spot against the American.

Swiatek enjoys a dominant 5-2 lead in her head-to-head against Pegula. The Pole won their most recent encounter in the 2023 Doha final in straight sets.