Gauff shakes off early trouble
Coco Gauff gave herself an early birthday present by beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6 (5) Monday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Gauff, who turns 20 on Wednesday, struggled early but found a way to hold her serve by saving 10 of 11 break points. She closed the match with a serve into the body that Bronzetti couldn’t return. It extended Gauff’s winning streak in the United States to 18 matches, a run that includes winning the title at last year’s U.S. Open.
Bronzetti had a chance to force a third set when she broke Gauff to take a 5-4 lead in the tiebreaker. Gauff won the next three points.
Gauff could end up facing Naomi Osaka in the round of 16. Osaka, the former world No. 1, is playing in the fifth tournament of her return after her maternity leave in 2023. She faced Elise Mertens later Monday. Other winners Monday included Holger Rune, Gael Monfils, Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Daria Kasatkina and second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Yuan Yue of China won her eighth in a row to move into the fourth round, defeating Caroline Dolehide 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
In Sunday’s late matches, Yulia Putintseva beat Madison Keys 6-4, 6-1, part of a tough day for American singles players.
Francis Tiafoe lost 6-3, 6-3
to Stefanos Tsitsipas, and
Katie Volynets was eliminated by Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
The final American on the court, Ben Shelton, won 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 victory over Francisco Cerundolo. Shelton
won the decisive tiebreaker 7-5. The 16th-seeded Shelton advanced to face Jannik Sinner in the round of 16. The 11th-seeded Tsitsipas will face Jiri Lehecka. Sinner ousted Jan LennardStruff 6-3, 6-4.