© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman
Coco Gauff claimed a routine win to reach the semifinal in Indian Wells, while a highly-anticipated Iga Swiatek and Caroline Wozniacki match ended with the Dane retiring injured.
On Thursday, No. 3 seed Gauff ousted world No. 49 Yue Yuan 6-4 6-3. By beating Yuan in their first meeting, the American – who celebrated her 20th birthday on Wednesday – also made her first semifinal in the desert.
Against Yuan, Gauff made a bit of a slow start as she got broken in the first game of the match but managed to get the break back instantly in the second game. After getting an early break back, Gauff broke Yuan again in the sixth game and saved a break point in the following game to open a 5-2 lead.
Just when it seemed that the first set was over, Gauff missed out on two set points when serving for the first set in the ninth game. But after getting the break back and reducing the deficit to 4-5, Yuan failed to serve out for 5-5 as the third-seeded American broke the Chinese in the 10th game to seal the first set.
Early in the third set, Yuan had a 3-1 lead but Gauff easily overturned that with back-to-back breaks in the sixth and eighth games.
For a place in the Indian…
