Coco Gauff’s remarkable streak of success persists following her triumph at the US Open last month, and her earnings clearly reflect the rewards she’s enjoying.
Gauff refusal to accept defeat was in evidence once again as she came back from the brink to defeat Croatia’s Petra Martic 7-5 5-7 7-6(2) to book a last 16 place.
Martic served for the win in the final set, but Gauff found a way back and sealed her 14th consecutive victory with an impressive performance in the tie-break.
The win took Gauff through the $6million barrier for prize money collected in 2023, with her performances on the singles court backed up by her impressive displays on the doubles court.
“I want to go to the end of this tournament and win,” declared Gauff. “Every match I’m just trying to improve.
“These matches are gonna make me tougher for the rest of the tournament & rest of the season.”
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka top the prize money list for 2023 in the women’s game with $7,369,635, with Gauff in second place on $5,557,372 and that total set to move beyond $6million after her progress in this week’s event in Beijing.
Former world No 1 Iga Swiatek is third with $5,455,686 and there is big money up for grabs in the WTA event in Beijing this week, with the winner set to pocket an eye-watering $1,324,000.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Katie Boulter pushed world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka before succumbing to defeat in a second-round battle at the China Open.
British number one Boulter continued her strong season by coming through qualifying and defeating Magdalena Frech in the first round in Beijing to set up a clash with Belarusian Sabalenka, playing her first event at the head of the rankings.
Boulter came close to upsetting Sabalenka at Wimbledon two years ago and this was another tight encounter, with the British player serving for both sets before her opponent hit back to win 7-5 7-6 (2).
Sabalenka, who revealed she asked for a can of Pepsi to help with stomach problems, said: “I definitely left everything I had on the court. She played unbelievable tennis, I’m super happy that I was able to win this match.”
Coco Gauff survived a marathon encounter with Croatian Petra Martic to extend her winning streak to 14 matches.
Martic served for the match in the third set, but Gauff broke back before coming through a deciding tie-break to win 7-5 5-7 7-6 (2) after three hours and one minute.
“I was just trying to play every ball,” said the US Open champion. “She raised her level and she was playing really well.
“I didn’t play my best the whole match, but the tie-breaker was definitely my best (period) of the match. These matches are going to make me tougher for the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season.”
Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva eased through to the third round with a 6-2 6-1 win over fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and will next face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, while second seed Iga Swiatek defeated Varvara Gracheva 6-4 6-1.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula came from a set down to defeat Anna Blinkova 6-7 (2) 6-2 6-1, but Ons Jabeur saw her winning run end after her title in Ningbo last week, going down 7-6 (5) 6-1 to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
