Tennis News: Since losing the opening set in the opening match at the Masters 1000 tournament, Cincinnati Open for the 2026 season, Cori Gauff has appeared very aggressive. Literally.
The fourth seed has now won six sets in a row after recording a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over tenth seed Marta Kostyuk in the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals.
The winning streak was largely driven by an increase in confidence, but was also the result of a tactical change that saw the home side move to the front more often than before.
“I didn’t realize how good I was at it until Wimbledon,” Gauff said. “Everyone keeps telling me to go to the net more often. In fact, Chris Evert occasionally sends messages asking me to go to the net more often.”
“I always said ‘yes, I will do it’, but in reality I didn’t. Finally, I actually did it at Wimbledon and managed to win a lot of points that way. And of course here, there is a big difference when you are able to finish points playing at the net.”
This was clearly seen in the 70 minutes it took for the 2025 French Open champion to beat the Ukrainian tennis player, Kostyuk. He repeatedly moved forward and those moves — coupled with six breaks of serve and losing just five points on his first serve — were key to his victory. Now, he is ahead with 4-2 in head to head against the tenth seed.
The 22-year-old is now the fourth player in the Open Era to reach more than one semifinal at the Cincinnati Open before turning 23, following in the footsteps of Linda Tuero, Vera Zvonareva and Evonne Goolagong.
Among active tennis players competing full-time, only Iga Swiatek (24) and Aryna Sabalenka (21) have reached the semifinals of more WTA level 1000 tournaments than the fourth seed (17).
Next, the home tennis player will face Czech national Sara Bejlek for a place in the final of the Cincinnati Open, which will be their first professional meeting.
“She is a very athletic and fast player. She really makes her opponent have to fight hard for every point and she is a fighter. The match will be fierce because I think we are similar in terms of movement. I am really looking forward to it,” said Gauff.
Article Tags: Cincinnati Open, Marta Kostyuk, Cori Gauff, Sara Bejlek
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/tampil-tidak-ampun-cori-gauff-megli-ke-semifinal-di-cincinnati