Coco Gauff pulls out close win against No. 56 Clara Burel

World No. 6 Coco Gauff defeated No. 56 Clara Burel of France 7-5, 6-3 in Friday night’s final match on the Diamond Court to advance into the third round of the 2024 China Open.

In the pair's second meeting, the 23-year-old Burel did not make it easy for Gauff, who opened the first game of the match with a double fault, a mistake she aims to curb under new head coach Matt Daly. This opened the door for Burel, who managed a service break, taking a 1-0 lead. But Burel made her own mistakes, allowing her opponent a service break in the second game after battling to two deuces. Burel played the first set conservatively, attempting to establish a rhythm. She took a 5-3 lead after gaining a service break against Gauff in the third and fifth games, but the American soon struck back. Burel was forced to play fast after Gauff began playing more aggressively. This enhanced speed of play forced the young French player to make mistakes and allow her opponent to creep back into the set. Gauff took the final three games, overpowering Burel on her way to winning the set 7-5.

“I think I stayed aggressive the whole match even when I was making some mistakes, but I think this is the way I have to play,” Gauff said afterward.

The story remained much the same in the second set. Gauff continued to play aggressively, though her opponent began to match her intensity. They held serve midway through the set, reaching 3-3 heading into the seventh game. Gauff excelled at the net, pushing her opponent behind the baseline with her strong serve and forcing her to land tricky lobs.

Burel refused to go away easily, though. The score reached deuce in the final three games of the set, with Gauff coming out on top in each. The players increasingly maintained long rallies with slim margins of error, where more often than not Gauff forced her opponent into tough shots. The ninth and final game epitomized the close battle between the two. Gauff opened up the game 15-0, before a wild rally in her opponent's favor tied it at 15-15. Gauff then double faulted twice, falling to 40-15. Despite Gauff’s service mistakes, her opponent missed easy shots on back-to-back points which brought the score to another deuce. Gauff, feeling the momentum on her side, finished the game and closed out by winning the set 6-3.

For Gauff, this has been a year of shortcomings. She was eliminated in the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open, and in the Round of 16 at the Olympics, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She split with coach Brad Gilbert in the past two weeks, shortly after her 19 double faults in her U.S. Open loss. Gauff began working with new coach Daly a week before coming to Beijing with a focus on sharpening her service game. Her six double faults in Friday’s match shows there is still room for improvement.

Gauff will next face World No. 34 Katie Boulter of Great Britain in the third round.

—Reporting by Egan Ward