Coco Gauff powered to a double-bagel 6-0 6-0 win over Arantxa Rus in their second-round clash at the Madrid Open.
The 21-year-old US Open champion needed just 51 minutes to see off her opponent, with Rus winning only 18 points across the entire contest.
Gauff’s match was scheduled prior to home-favourite Rafael Nadal’s tournament opener on Friday and she joked after her emphatic win: “I know everybody is here to see Rafa, so I was just trying to get off the court for you guys.”
Gauff, seeded third in Madrid, will face 31st seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in the next round.
Osaka defeated by Samsonova in Madrid epic
Naomi Osaka suffered a second-round exit to 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova after an epic encounter lasting nearly two and a half hours.
In a first set that was to belie the enthralling encounter to follow, Osaka swiftly fell behind 4-0 on her way to losing the opener 6-2, while she was also broken early in both the second and third sets.
On each occasion the former world No 1 rallied, rattling off four games in a row from 4-3 down in the second to level things up at one set apiece as Samsonova appeared to lose her nerve.
At 4-3 up, Samsonova sent down three double faults to be broken and lose her advantage and then, in her next service game, having saved two set points from 15-40 down, she double-faulted again after Osaka eked out a third.
In a hugely tight third set, Samsonova finally earned the decisive break in the 11th game before this time holding her nerve to serve out the match for a 6-2 4-6 7-5 win over the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Samsonova will next face 18th-seeded American Madison Keys in the third round.
Upcoming tennis live on Sky Sports
In the run-up to the second Grand Slam of 2024 – the French Open at Roland-Garros from May 26 – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the clay-court season…
- Madrid Open (ATP and WTA Masters 1000) – Tuesday April 22-Sunday May 5
- Italian Open (ATP and WTA Masters 1000) – Tuesday May 7-Sunday May 19
- Geneva Open (ATP 250) – Monday May 20-Sunday May 26
- Lyon Open (ATP 250) – Monday May 20-Sunday May 26
- Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500) – Monday May 20-Sunday May 26
- Morocco Open (WTA 250) – Monday May 20-Sunday May 26
Sky Sports will broadcast more live tennis than anywhere else in 2024, including on its dedicated tennis channel, bringing over 4,000 matches from more than 80 tournaments a year on the ATP and WTA Tours, plus full coverage of the US Open exclusively live.
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Fans will also be able to follow their favourite players and gain deeper insights from both Tours via Sky Sports News, the Sky Sports App and skysports.com as well as via Sky Sports’ social channels.
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