Gauff halts Liu comeback to advance at Indian Wells

American tennis sensation Coco Gauff overcame a second set comeback from compatriot Claire Liu to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells tournament on Friday night.

The 16th seed was taken to the limit in the second set, but managed to secure a 6-1 7-6(4) victory. After breezing through the opening set where she won 915 of points behind her first serve, the 17-year old seemed to struggle in the second.

Both ladies exchanged breaks in the second set, with Gauff hitting six double faults as the quality of her serves dropped tremendously. After not facing a single break point in the opening set, the World No.17 was forced to save eight out of 10 break points faced. Although she had an opportunity to serve for the match, Liu fought back to send proceedings to a tiebreak.

With the prospect of playing a third set looming ahead, Gauff righted the ship as she reeled off some spectacular points under pressure to clinch the tiebreak and close out the match after just over two hours. The American faces former World No.1 Simona Halep in a mouthwatering third-round encounter, with Halep having won their only previous meeting at the 2019 Wimbledon championships.