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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., March 25 (UPI) — American Cori “Coco” Gauff avenged her Australian Open loss to Qiang Wang with a straight-sets victory over the same foe in the second round of the 2022 Miami Open on Friday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The 7-5, 6-4 victory on the court inside Hard Rock Stadium punched Gauff’s ticket to the third round. She’ll face China’s Zhang Shuai in that match Sunday.
“She is a tough player,” Gauff said of Wang. “She is going to hit a lot of balls back on the court. I was just focused on trying to hit the ball deep and over the net.”
Gauff, the No. 17 player in the WTA rankings, fired six aces and converted 5 of 10 break points on returns. Wang, ranked No. 101, fired just one ace and converted 3 of 9 break points on returns.
“I was just super-motivated today,” Gauff said. “Extra motivation because I’m playing at home, and also because I lost before. I feel like everything was working for me today, but especially my mindset.
“I had an opportunity to serve out the first set and also the last one, but I got broken. I’m happy that I was able to break back.”
Shelby Rogers, Jessica Pegula, Madison Brengle and Lauren Davis were among the other American women to advance in matches earlier Friday.
Alexander Zverev, Hugo Gaston, Pablo Carreno Busta, Cameron Norrie, Fabio Fognini and Juan Manuel Cerundolo were among the men’s players who advanced Friday in the early wave of matches.
The Miami Open women’s singles final is April 2, while the men’s singles final is April 3. The tournament airs at 11 a.m. EDT daily on Tennis Channel.
