Coco Gauff said she had taken extra pleasure from winning in her home county of Florida as the 20-year-old won 10 games in a row to thrash big-hitter Oceane Dodin in the last 32 of the Miami Open.
Lucky loser Dodin won the first two games of the match and had a break point to make it 3-0 before Gauff responded in remarkable style to win 6-4, 6-0.
“I’m really happy to be here in South Florida – it’s where I grew up,” Gauff told a suitably appreciative audience. “I have a lot of family [near here]. It’s really nice to play in front of them and in front of the home crowd.”
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Gauff, who has now won 22 of her last 23 matches in the US, will play the winner of the match between former world number one Naomi Osaka and 23rd seed Caroline Garcia in the next round on Monday.
“I’m looking forward to both,” Gauff told the Tennis Channel, praising the returning Osaka’s straight-sets win over 15th seed Elina Svitolina.
“The last time I played Naomi, I won – but I think I lost the last time I played Caroline, so maybe I should get revenge on her.
“Naomi’s playing some great tennis. I watched a little bit of the last set of her match against Svitolina and she’s playing great.
“Caroline is always a threat on tour. She can play some big tennis and they both play similar games a little bit, with hitting big. It’s going to be something like I saw today but at a different level.”
Dolphins can win Super Bowl – Gauff
Gauff has never been beyond the fourth round in Miami, recording four wins and four defeats since her debut at the tournament.
She has won 24 of her 31 matches since triumphing at Flushing Meadows and may have to beat the likes of top-ranked Iga Swiatek if she sees off Osaka or Garcia.
“It would be really cool to win here at home,” said Gauff. “The best bit would be being able to drive home with the trophy and not having to fly and pack.
“It is something I want to do. I grew up going to this tournament. I really want to do well here. I’m a [Miami] Dolphins fan, so maybe if I do well here they can win the Super Bowl.”
