“It’s tough” – Coco Gauff makes honest confession after defeating Lucia Bronzetti to reach 2nd Cincinnati Open QF

The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter

Coco Gauff after beating Bronzetti to reach 2nd Cincinnati QF “For the most part I played aggressive. Maybe got a bit passive in some of those games. But it’s tough. The balls are super light and they fly. She wasn’t giving me much pace. I was trying to play with control but

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During a post-match interview, the 2025 French Open champion rued a couple of missed chances when the Italian lost her serve but stated that she was able to close out the match by learning from her mistakes.

The second seed, who reached the final of the 2025 Madrid Open and Italian Open before triumphing at Roland Garros, was knocked out in the opening round at Wimbledon.

Gauff will take on Jasmine Paolini in a repeat of the 2023 Cincinnati Open quarterfinal. Both players faced off more recently in the final of the Italian Open earlier this year, with Paolini emerging victorious in Rome.

“It’s super special to play on this court, I have so many memories from 2023" - Coco Gauff recalls maiden WTA 1000 crown

An elated Coco Gauff recalled her maiden WTA 1000 win in Cincinnati back in 2023 after having prevailed in her third-round encounter against Lucia Bronzetti.

"It’s super special to play on this court, I have so many memories from 2023," Gauff stated after the match.

After getting past Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in the 2023 quarterfinals, Gauff set up a semifinal against then World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The Pole had won seven matches in a row against Gauff going into the Cincinnati encounter.

A gruelling 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 victory over Swiatek helped Gauff make it to the final of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career.

She then defeated Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 in the title clash to create history by becoming the youngest champion ever at the Cincinnati Open. The win at Cincinnati was followed by a triumph at the US Open, where Coco Gauff stunned Aryna Sabalenka to become the first American teen to win the New York Major since Serena Williams in 1999.

Gauff failed to defend her Cincinnati Open title last year after losing to Yulia Putintseva in the second round.

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Subhashish Majumdar

Subhashish has been an Indian sports journalist at Sportskeeda since 2017. He primarily covers hockey along with other Indian Sports, and endeavors to bridge the coverage gap between the multitude of Indian sports and cricket via his articles. Subhashish’s interest in Indian sports peaked after watching a few hockey and football matches live during his childhood days, and has also played Hockey, Football, Table Tennis, Badminton at school and college level.

As a journalist, he covered every single Indian hockey match at the 2018 & 2022 Commonwealth Games, 2018 & 2023 Asian Games, 2018 Women's World Cup, 2018 & 2023 Men’s World Cup and the 2021 Olympics. An interview specialist, he has conducted over 100 interviews with the Indian Men's and Women's Hockey team, and has also been part of the UK-based DesiSportsCast Podcast.

Subhashish’s favorite Indian athlete is Vandana Katariya for her relentlessness and never-say-die attitude. For him, India men's hockey team's 7-1 win over Pakistan in 2017 Hockey World League semis on the same day as India men's cricket team's loss to the same opponent in the Champions Trophy final is an iconic moment in Indian Sports history.

When not writing, he likes to spend his free time blogging, singing, jogging, and trekking.

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