JAKARTA - Coco Gauff managed to eliminate Belinda Bencic to reach the semifinals of the 2026 Miami Open. It was her first ticket to the top four in the history of the WTA 1000-level tournament.
Gauff, who played in front of her own supporters, fought back from a third-set deficit to seal the victory with a final score of 6-3, 1-6, and 6-3 at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, United States, on Tuesday night local time or Wednesday, March 25, 2026, morning WIB.
"The match was so hard. Belinda is a tough player. Every time we meet, the game always lasts a long time," said Gauff after the match as reported by the WTA official website.
Gauff performed so well in the first set of this match. He held the serve in the first game and did not lose a single point in the game, then took advantage of one of the three break points in the second game, and was able to steal the third game to take a 3-0 lead.
The 22-year-old failed to quickly extend the lead by failing to convert any of the three break points in the next game and then losing his serve in the fifth game, so the score gap was narrowed.
However, he immediately stole the next two games to maintain the lead. Even though he lost the eighth game, Gauff immediately rose in the ninth game. He didn't lose a single point in the game to take a 1-0 lead over Belinda.
The game in the second set was completely different. He immediately went to 0-3 and then managed to steal the fourth game, but lost the serve in the sixth game so Belinda won easily to tie the score.
In the deciding set, Gauff managed to secure the first game while holding the serve, but Belinda managed to take the lead 3-2. He then found his game pattern and stole the next four games to get a semi-final ticket.
This is Gauff's fifth victory out of a total of seven clashes on the competitive arena with the Swiss player. Two of her losses during that period were at Indian Wells last year and Adelaide in 2021.
"Today I ran a lot, fell a few times, but I'm really proud of how I fought today. I think that's been the theme of this week," said Gauff, who has collected two Grand Slam titles in her career.
Gauff is the youngest American to reach the women's singles semifinals at the Miami Open since Serena Williams in 2024. She will next face Karolina Muchova, who qualified after knocking out Victoria Mboko.
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