Coco Gauff overcomes Belinda Bencic to reach first Miami Open semifinal
American Coco Gauff serves against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during a women's singles quarterfinal at the 2026 Miami Open on Tuesday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. , March 24 (UPI) -- Coco Gauff lost momentum, but summoned sensational court coverage skills to rally past Belinda Bencic on Tuesday in a Miami Open quarterfinal.
The top-ranked American (No. 4) trailed her No. 12 Swiss counterpart 3-2 in the final set, but went on to sweep the last four games, including two break-point conversions, for the gritty victory in Miami Gardens, Fla.
"It was a tough match physically, I think for both of us," Gauff said on the Tennis Channel broadcast after the 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 triumph. "I don't know how I got through it. " Gauff will continue her deepest run at the tournament with a semifinal meeting with No.
14 Karolina Muchova of Czechia. "I didn't think I'd be in the semis, so I'm really happy and proud of myself," Gauff said. "I think I proved a lot with myself this week.
I feel like with each match, I'm getting better. " Gauff held a 6-3 edge in aces, but logged four double faults, compared to Bencic's zero in the 2-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal. She attempted to harness her revamped serve throughout the match, while Bencic used a technical approach to limit her power and ability to stretch the court.