Down a double break, Sabalenka roars back to deflate Gauff in Ostrava

When Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff squared off for the first time in Lexington just over two months ago, there was no telling who would prevail in a match full of ups and downs. Gauff would ultimately tip the scale in the third to clinch that quarterfinal meeting, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4. But on Thursday, Sabalenka exacted her revenge in a sequel equally as topsy-turvy, mounting an impressive 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (2) comeback at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open.

After battling to win the second set, the third-seeded Sabalenka found herself down a double break in the decider. Gauff reached 5-2 by winning an extended rally with a backhand lob that caught the baseline after Sabalenka opted to let it go by.

The 16-year-old had the match on her racquet twice. Gauff was two points away from victory at 5-4, 30-30, but a double fault brought up break point. On the ensuing point, she paid the price for a poor drop shot.

Winning four successive games, Sabalenka appeared primed to add one more and slam the door shut. Up, 6-5, 15-30, the 22-year-old worked to open up the court—only to push a forehand volley wide.

Gauff capitalized by executing a terrific drop shot-lob combination two points later to stop the bleeding and get herself into a tiebreaker.

All match long, Sabalenka maintained her brand of tennis by swinging away, and her backhand down the line proved to not only be a pivotal shot in keeping her in the encounter, but propelling her to the finish line.

In a final set that had everything, Sabalenka appropriately completed her day with an ace—shortly confirmed when Gauff's challenge indicated a perfectly-painted line. The hard-fought win was Sabalenka's after two hours and 14 minutes.

"After 2-5 in the third set, I didn't care at all about the result," Sabalenka said in an on-court interview. "I just keep saying to myself, focus on this point, focus on this ball. I just keep saying it until the end. It helped me to be like in the moment and not care about anything else.

"She's a great player, moving really well. It was really tough for me to make winners. Every point was like big rallies. Happy I could win this match, because for me, this is really a tough opponent."

Sabalenka will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in Friday's quarterfinals. The Spanish qualifier knocked out No. 8 seed Anett Kontaveit, 6-1, 6-4, a day earlier.

In other matches, a pair of home favorites were sent packing. Qualifier Veronika Kudermetova ousted No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, for her second win over the former No. 1 this year. Kudermetova also defeated Pliskova at 'Cincinnati in New York' in August and will next play Jennifer Brady. The American eased past Daria Kasatkina, 7-5, 6-2. Seventh seed Elise Mertens picked up her 30th match win of 2020 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova, giving herself a chance to avenge a US Open blowout defeat to Victoria Azarenka.

Ons Jabeur defeated wild card Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-4, to confirm her place in the final eight. The Tunisian won 59 percent of her return points to break Ostapenko seven times from 11 opportunities. For a place in the semifinals, Jabeur will battle Maria Sakkari.