No. 3 seed Coco Gauff is out of the Madrid Open after suffering a collapse in the third set and blowing her lead against Madison Keys just when it seemed that she would go on to clinch a comeback win.
On Monday, Gauff took on fellow American Keys in the round-of-16 and she found herself down by a set after blowing a 5-2 first-set lead. Down by a set, Gauff responded by winning the second set and then also went up by a break in the third set and opening a 4-2 lead.
But instead of completing a big comeback win, Gauff ended up losing in three sets as Keys sealed a 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-4 win.
Coco Gauff © Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
How Keys edged out Gauff?
The first set featured multiple score changes as the match started with Keys breaking Gauff in the opening game but then the No. 3 seed went on to open a 5-2 lead after responding with breaks in the second and sixth games.
Just when it seemed that the first set was over, Gauff suffered back-to-back breaks as Keys then went 6-5 up and had a chance to serve out for the opener. But after Keys failed to serve out for the first set, the opener went into a tie-break.
In the first-set tie-break, the two players were tied to four games apiece before Keys won the next three points to win the opener.
Madison Keys © Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
The second set was no different as Gauff was twice up by a break but Keys twice recovered. In the seventh game, Gauff broke Keys for the third time in the set. Then in the ninth game, Gauff missed out on three set points but realized her fourth on her serve in the 10th game as the match went into a decider.
After winning the third set, Gauff also claimed a break in the fifth game and served out the next game for a 4-2 lead. But then, Gauff suffered a collapse and lost the next four games and the match.
By beating Gauff, Keys set up a Madrid quarterfinal against Ons Jabeur.
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