Gauff survives the fear and reaches the semifinals of the China Open

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Coco Gauff survived a scare to beat Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in three sets and reach the semifinals of the China Open on Thursday.

The 2023 US Open champion will face Paula Badosa after the Spaniard ended 595th-ranked Chinese Zhang Shuai’s fairytale run in straight sets.

Gauff, seeded number four, fought back and defeated 115th-ranked Starodubtseva 2:6, 6:2, 6:2 in Beijing.

The 20-year-old American recently parted ways with coach Brad Gilbert as she tries to regain the form that brought her a maiden Grand Slam title last year.

Gauff’s serve has become a particular problem, and that was the case again when she dropped the first set.

But Gauff regained her composure in the second round and fought back – it was the first set Starodubtseva had lost in her seventh match of the tournament.

Gauff, hoping for her eighth singles title, took a 3-0 lead in the deciding set to secure her place in the semifinals.

In the day’s other quarter-final, former world number two Badosa disappointed the home fans with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) win over Zhang.

The 35-year-old Zhang, a two-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist and plagued by injuries, arrived in Beijing on a streak of 24 straight losses.

The painful losing streak, which spanned more than 600 days, was the second longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968.

But the former top 25 player eventually won a match early in her tournament and then racked up three more wins to earn an unlikely place in the last eight.

In front of a near-capacity crowd on the 15,000-capacity Diamond Court, Zhang suffered a double bust in a flurry of unforced errors.

She eventually made it 4-1, but Badosa won the first set after 23 minutes.

The second round was closer and there was a tiebreak.

Badosa, looking to win her fifth singles title, sealed victory on her first match point when Zhang’s forehand return missed.

Zhang was the lowest-ranked player to ever reach this stage at the China Open.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will play Karolina Muchova on Friday for a place in the last four.

The winner will face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva or China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

pst/pbt