"It’s going to be a fight for that" - Coco Gauff picks up reputation of a 'fighter' after battling through to China Open semi-final

The China Open has been a favourite tournament for Coco Gauff in recent times, winning her last WTA 1000 title in Beijing last year. She has now found a rich vein of form after prior struggles on the court to power through to the semi-finals of the event, as she labels herself a 'fighter' in the process.

Gauff looked imperious on clay, reaching two 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome before clinching her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Her form has suffered since, failing to pick up a win on grass before enduring a tough North American hardcourt swing, which culminated in a straight sets defeat to Naomi Osaka in the US Open fourth round.

In many of those ties, Gauff had been scrapping for wins, caught up in some tight battles which she came out on top of a lot of the time. The American had been struggling with her serve, even getting in a new technical coach, Gavin MacMillan, just before the final major of the year to try and turn her problems around. It finally seems to be working, with a return to form a huge relief for the 21-year-old, who is on the hunt for a second China Open title.

Gauff has taken down Kamilla Rakhimova, Leylah Fernandez, and Belinda Bencic to set up a quarter-final showdown against the surprise of the tournament Eva Lys. The German was looking to collect another top 10 win after disposing of former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. However, Gauff proved to be too strong for her, as the former US Open champion showed her class to defeat Lys 6-3, 6-4.

In her press conference after the match, Gauff commented on her confidence rising in her ever improving serve, as well as touching on the battles she has been through in Beijing to make it this far.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s been a lot of fight I think, for sure,” Gauff said. “Obviously against Leylah, I’ve played her three times. This is for sure the best time I played her. She was playing great tennis. I had to get through that barely. Then the same with Belinda. Honestly, in the tiebreak, I got a little bit lucky hitting a let cord on one of those points. Just kind of fighting and staying in the match. Today I had to fight, but I was able to close it out on my serve, which is important for me, I think, for the long run.”

Recently, Gauff has got the reputation of being a fighter, which has seen her rise up the rankings to world number three. The American number one is hoping to keep that up as she predicts for more of the same on court in her semi-final match against two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova, in what is set up to be a fascinating match of tennis.

“Yeah, I mean, these next two matches, obviously the further you go, the harder it’s going to get," she said. "In my next round I have two quality opponents. It’s going to be a fight for that. I mean, maybe. I don’t know. I hope so. I definitely think I’ve built, or have a lot of matches that have built that reputation for myself. I can’t quite know what my opponent is thinking. I definitely know on the physical side of things, a lot of people tonight want to go the distance with me. I definitely think maybe some opponents think about that. But I don’t think everybody’s thinking that when they’re on the court.”