Coco Gauff finds form on grass in trouncing of Britain’s Jodie Burrage at Eastbourne
World number seven Coco Gauff cruised into the last eight of the Rothesay International at Eastbourne with a comfortable 6-1 6-1 victory over Britain’s Jodie Burrage.
The American took just 59 minutes to complete the win with the only highlight for Burrage, who has a Wimbledon wildcard, being a break of serve to make it 5-1 in the second set.
Gauff will now face compatriot and doubles partner Jessica Pegula, who beat Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio 6-2 1-6 6-3, in a meeting of the top two Americans on tour.
The American is enjoying the relative peace of Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon next week.
“Being in a town like Eastbourne where you can walk reminds me of home. It’s peaceful and I need that before getting into a Grand Slam,” she told BBC2.
No 7 in the world Gauff earned the edge at 3-1 in the first set by firing passing shots at the conclusion of rallies to snatch the vital break, and the 19-year-old American stormed to a one-set lead from there. In the second set, Gauff stretched her advantage to 5-0.
Burrage made her imprint in the next game with a break at love, the first time Gauff dropped her service in the opening two rounds. Gauff, on the other hand, quickly broke back to take the victory. Gauff dominated the match with 18 winners and only eight unforced errors.
Gauff improved her career record on grass to 18-6 with the win and improved her season win-loss ratio to 26-10.
She has spent just two hours on court across her two matches, with her last eight opponent Pegula having already gone beyond three hours on the Eastbourne lawns.
Britain’s representation in the women’s singles ended with Harriet Dart’s exit to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, losing 6-3 6-4, while Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina beat 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in three sets.
Defending men’s champion and top seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out by fellow Californian Mackenzie McDonald, who recovered from a break down in each set to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (8) against the world number nine.
“It’s a big win for me. Taylor’s a close friend and it’s always tough playing your friends. It was a battle out there,” McDonald said in his on-court interview.
The American will face Swede Mikael Ymer in the quarter-finals after he defeated home favourite Liam Broady 6-2 6-4.
Eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic struggled past qualifier qualifier Aleksandar Vukic for a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win and will face Frenchman Gregoire Barrere after he upset fifth seed Nicolas Jarry in three sets.
