Madison Keys (Twitter)
5th seed Coco Gauff takes on compatriot Madison Keys in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.
The American prodigy has reached her second consecutive quarterfinal and third overall this year. Before coming to Dubai, Gauff played in the Qatar Open where she lost to Veronika Kudermetova in three sets in the quarterfinals.
Gauff began her campaign in Dubai with a comprehensive win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The 18-year-old hit some fabulous shots during the encounter where she converted 6 out of 11 break points. In the round o 16, Gauff was set to face Elena Rybakina. However, the 2023 Australian Open finalist pulled out prior to the match owing to a lower back injury.
The 28-year-old also played in the Qatar Open, but her campaign ended in the first round when she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Keys started her campaign in Dubai with a thumping 6-1, 6-1 win against Jasmine Paolini. The American athlete followed it up with another solid performance against 4th seed Caroline Garcia. The match ended 7-5, 6-4 in favor of Keys. She continued her dominating run in Dubai in the round of 16 as she outplayed 15th seed Victoria Azarenka. Keys won the match 6-2, 6-1. She had a win percentage of 81 on the first serve and fired in 9 aces.
The head-to-head scoreline is currently at a 1-1 deadlock. Gauff comprehensively defeated Keys in their most recent encounter in the third round of the 2022 US Open. The match ended 6-2, 6-3 in favor of the youngster.
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in three sets.
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