Coco Gauff moves past Maria Sharapova in key atatt, with only Martina Hingis left ahead

Coco Gauff is through to the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships after seeing off Anna Kalinskaya on Tuesday.

Gauff had struggled for form going into the match, coming off a heavy loss to Elina Svitolina in Melbourne and a surprising defeat to Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Doha.

But she put those results behind her, beating Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-4 in the United Arab Emirates.

Gauff moves past Sharapova milestone

According to OptaAce, Coco Gauff has now reached the round of 16 at Tier I / WTA-1000 events for the 31st time, moving her past Maria Sharapova’s mark of 30.

Gauff had already moved ahead of Caroline Wozniacki and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who reached that stage 28 and 26 times, respectively.

The only player left for Gauff to catch is Martina Hingis [pictured below], who holds the record with 44 appearances in WTA 1000 round of 16s.

Next up for Gauff is a round of 16 matchup against Elise Mertens. Mertens earned her spot by beating Marie Bouzkova in the second round.

The American holds a perfect 4-0 record against Mertens, most recently winning their match at the 2024 Indian Wells Open with a commanding scoreline of 6-0, 6-2.

Gauff shares thoughts on Doha win over Kalinskaya

After the match, Gauff spoke about what she changed from their previous meeting, where Kalinskaya had come out on top.

“Just trying to be more positive,” Gauff said. “Yeah, it wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was enough for today.”

The American then touched on the windy conditions in Dubai before discussing her recovery ahead of her next match.

She said: “Yeah it was pretty windy, I felt it a lot on that side so I was just trying to adjust and I think both of us were struggling with consistency on the court.

“I think all week… at least when I’ve been here, it’s not been windy. So a little bit today was a bit different.”

When asked how she is feeling going into her next match in Qatar, Gauff replied: “I mean, I feel fine. It wasn’t that long of a match today.

“I think it’s more so just trying to work on the things that I need for tomorrow’s match.”

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