Gauff saves three match points, dispatches Mertens to reach Dubai quarters

For the first time since 2021, Coco Gauff came back from match points down to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, rallying past Elise Mertens on Wednesday night to reach the Dubai quarterfinals.

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The American came from a set down and saved three match points in the second set in a remarkable show of resilience, defeating Mertens 2-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3 in 2 hours and 18 minutes. The win improved her record to 5-0 against the Belgian at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level.

“The whole match felt like it wasn’t going my way,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “It wasn’t the best, but I just tried to stay in it, and I did fight for every point. I’m happy I was able to get the result today.

“Elise is a great player, so I just had to stay settled. I knew I could win; it was just [a matter] if I could find my game. And I did a little bit at times, and sometimes I didn’t, but it’s okay.”

The 21-year-old was broken to start the match, hitting two double faults in the opening game to hand Mertens the early advantage. Though she would hit only one more double fault the rest of the set, she struggled mightily on her second serve, opening the door for Mertens to break again for 4-1 and go on to close out the set in 34 minutes.

Gauff landed just 39% of her first serves in the opener.

Despite her persistent serving woes -- she was broken again to begin the set -- the World No. 4 displayed her trademark grit. She earned her first break of the match with a forehand winner on the approach to level at 1-1, then broke again for a 3-1 lead.

What followed was a series of unpredictable momentum swings, with neither player able to fully seize control. Mertens broke back for 3-2 to get back on serve, but Gauff broke again for 5-3 to earn a chance to serve out the set. Instead, her double-fault tally continued to climb. Her eighth of the match gave Mertens two break points, and the Belgian converted the second to level at 5-5.

Mertens served for the match at 6-5 but was broken at love, sending the set to a tiebreak. Gauff led 5-3 in the breaker before dropping three straight points to give Mertens her first match point, which the American saved behind a rare first serve. Gauff donated two more match points -- at 7-6 and 9-8 down -- with her 10th and 11th double faults, but she saved both. She then caught a fortunate net cord to set up her second set point, which she converted to force a decider.

There were signs of growing confidence when Gauff held to love for 2-2 in the third set. And after Mertens’ fifth double fault handed her the break for 3-2, Gauff appeared well on her way to a miraculous victory. But momentum remained fickle. Gauff hit her 13th, 14th and 15th double faults on consecutive points to give the break right back for 3-all. Mertens, however, followed suit with her sixth double fault, and Gauff capitalized, earning the decisive break for a 4-3 lead.

It was the first of three straight games won by Gauff, who overcame not only the three match points she faced in the second set but also 16 double faults and 63 unforced errors to steal the win.

She finished with five fewer points than Mertens -- 96 to 101 -- but it will go down as an irrelevant footnote, as Gauff completed the comeback to become the youngest player to reach four quarterfinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships since the tournament’s inception in 2001.

She is also the youngest player to claim 100 WTA 1000 main-draw wins since the format’s introduction in 2009.

Gauff will next face Alexandra Eala for the right to earn win No. 101 and reach her second Dubai semifinal. It will be the first meeting between them at the WTA level.