The 16-year old upset No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling three-set encounter during their second round match. After escaping with the opening set tiebreak, Gauff dropped the second set before coming back to win the match.

"I think my mentality pushed me to win," she said after the match. "We're both playing good tennis, and had our ups and downs in the match. At the end of the day, it came down to a couple close points."

This was Gauff's second Top 20 win of the season, as she ended Naomi Osaka's title defense at the Australian Open earlier this year.

"It's pretty much impossible to play your best tennis for all three hours of a match. Keeping the level high throughout was pretty tough, but that's just tennis, playing in different conditions, and just starting back on tour. I'm not too upset with how I played; I'm most proud of how I handled myself, staying composed on the pressure points."

Often very critical of herself, the teenager was quick to point out her flaws during the near-three hour encounter.

"Everything was an 'A' except for my serving. I definitely served better in my first match than today, but you're going to have good and bad days, and I like to go for my serves, so that's the give and take.

"I think my serve today was more mental than technical. Towards the end of the match, I started serving better, and I may have been overthinking at some points."

Awaiting Gauff in the quarterfinals is Ons Jabeur, as the Tunisian outlasted Belarusian Olga Govortsova 3-6 6-2 6-4 in her round of 16 match.

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