Coco Gauff reaches Dubai quarterfinals after arguing with umpire

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Coco Gauff recovered from a slow start and a second set argument with the chair umpire to win Karolina Plisková 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday.

Third-seeded Gauff ended Pliskova’s 11-game winning streak.

The 19-year-old American raced to a 4-2 lead in the second set before a long exchange with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi. Gauff complained to Bacchi that he had called off her two-out serve only after Pliskova returned it to the net.

Gauff had to repeat her first serve and held to take a 5-2 lead.

The US Open champion said the discussion “fueled” her.

“It’s okay. It’s just a point. That happens in tennis. Players make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “For me everything went up.”

Gauff will face off next Anna Kalinskaya after the Russian beat the ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-5.

Best rated Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the two-time champion from Dubai Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-4.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina It was more difficult for him to reach the quarterfinals. she survived french cupcake 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.

Swiatek will next face sixth seed Qinwen Zheng, who eliminated Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-2. Rybakina has a quarterfinal match against jasmine paolini. The Italian defeated the eighth seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2.

The other quarterfinal match is the seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova against Sorana Cirstea.