Big upset at Miami Open: Coco Gauff stunned by Magda Linette

World No. 3 Coco Gauff was shocked by an impressive Magda Linette, who showed resilience to overcome the American No. 1 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The Polish player, who has been consistent in recent years, earned a well-deserved reward by advancing to her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal at the age of 33.

Linette is one of those players who has found her best form at an advanced age. She has won three WTA 250 titles so far, the latest at the Prague Open in July 2024, and reached her highest ranking as a top-20 player a year ago. This year, she added the legendary Agnieszka Radwanska to her coaching team, which has given her a boost at the start of 2025.

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Linette takes surprising lead over Gauff

Linette arrived with confidence, having beaten opponents like Ekaterina Aleksandrova (18th) and Linda Fruhvirtova, and she broke Gauff’s serve in the third game to take a 3-1 lead after converting her second break point opportunity.

The Polish player had to recover from a break point against her mid-set but showed strength with her service, winning 79% of her first serves. On the other hand, Gauff made constant mistakes and committed a total of 6 double faults.

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Neither player could cause any further damage on the return, and both held serve comfortably. Linette took advantage of her second set point to surprise Gauff and win the first set 6-4 in 46 minutes. The Polish player had been consistent from the baseline during rallies and deservedly took the first set.

Gauff fights back but Linette clinches the win

Before the match, Gauff was considered the heavy favorite, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She got her first break early in the set and took a 2-0 lead.

However, Linette continued to play confidently, breaking back quickly to even the score at 2-2 after several minutes of battling. After a couple of exchanged breaks, both players faced difficulties defending their service games, and it became a nerve-wracking duel between them, with four breaks in just five opportunities.

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The score reached 4-4, and Linette had the responsibility of serving. Although Gauff managed to apply pressure on her opponent after a couple of good rallies, it wasn't enough to recover the break, and Linette closed out the victory 6-4, 6-4 after one hour and 30 minutes.

Linette will face 6th seed Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals, who seems to be finding her best form after a rollercoaster win against 4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. This will be Paolini’s first appearance in the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 this season.

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