Updated

Updated · WTA Tennis · Jul 7

Osaka Upsets No. 1 Sabalenka as Gauff Reaches First Wimbledon Quarterfinal Before 11 p.m. Curfew

Updated

Updated · WTA Tennis · Jul 7

Osaka Upsets No. 1 Sabalenka as Gauff Reaches First Wimbledon Quarterfinal Before 11 p.m. Curfew

Q: Gauff's dramatic win hid a key vulnerability. Will her nine double faults be the flaw that ends her Wimbledon run?

Yes — it is a real vulnerability, and against Jessica Pegula it could be the factor that ends Coco Gauff’s Wimbledon run if it resurfaces at the wrong moments. The warning sign from the Bencic match was not just the total of nine double faults, but how they came: five in one first-set game. That kind of serving collapse can hand away momentum and free points, especially against a cleaner returner and steadier ball-striker like Pegula. Gauff recovered because her athleticism, groundstrokes and composure were strong enough to outweigh the damage. That may not be as forgiving in the quarter-final. At the same time, the double faults should not be treated as a fatal flaw on their own. Recent form suggests her serve has generally improved. The additional reporting notes she had spoken this season about feeling more stable on her second serve, and in other recent matches her double-fault count has been much lower. That makes the Bencic performance look more like a relapse under pressure than a constant trend. The matchup matters. Pegula leads their head-to-head 5-3 and is coming off a composed win in which she corrected her own serving issues mid-match. If Gauff lands a solid first-serve percentage and keeps the double faults under control, her power and movement give her every chance. If the second serve breaks down again, Pegula is the kind of opponent likely to punish it. So the serve is not certain to end Gauff’s run, but it is the clearest weakness now exposed.

3 articles · Updated · WTA Tennis · Jul 7

Naomi Osaka powered past top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2), earning her first win over Sabalenka since 2018 and a Wimbledon quarterfinal berth.
The straight-sets upset was emphatic: Osaka won 87% of first-serve points, hit eight aces and ended Sabalenka streaks that included 14 straight Slam quarterfinals and 121 majors without a straight-sets loss.
Coco Gauff joined her in the last eight by beating Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, closing out the match just two minutes before Wimbledon's 11 p.m. curfew.
Gauff's first Wimbledon quarterfinal completes her set of Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances and sets up an all-American meeting with No. 4 Jessica Pegula.
Five women reached their first Wimbledon quarterfinals this year, with Osaka and Gauff part of a draw that also sent Karolina Muchova, Jasmine Paolini and others into an unusually fresh last eight.