Coco Gauff raced against the clock and beat the Wimbledon curfew to reach the quarter-finals for the first time with a dramatic victory over Belinda Bencic.
Following the five-set match between Felix Auger-Alassime and Alejandro Davidovic Fokina earlier on Sunday, Gauff and Bencic did not take to the court until 8:30pm local time, with play starting under the roof on Court No 1.
The Wimbledon curfew, which is set by Merton Council and has been in place since Centre Court opened its roof in 2009, does not allow play to continue past 11pm local time to limit potential disruption for local residents.
Gauff, the seventh seed and two-time major champion, forced the deciding set against former Olympics champion Bencic at just after 10pm and immediately went for a break up in the third.
Bencic broke back, however, and forced Gauff to serve for her place in the quarter-finals at 10:56pm and with just minutes to spare before the curfew. Gauff managed, sealing victory with an unreturned wide serve at 10:58pm.
Gauff, who celebrated by pointing at her wrist, famously reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old on her Wimbledon debut in 2019. But she had not made it past the last-16 in five previous attempts.
Gauff will play compatriot Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, for a place in the semi-finals.
At 22, Gauff, who has won titles at the US Open and the French Open, has reached at least the quarter-finals at all four grand slams. -Independent
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The post Coco Gauff seal Wimbledon quarter-finals slot appeared first on Ghanaian Times.
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