COCO GAUFF FIRES BACK AT CRITICS AFTER BREAKING SLUMP AND MATCHING 12-YEAR RECORD

Coco Gauff is doing great at this year’s Miami Open.

She has already won two matches easily, including a 6-2, 6-4 win over Maria Sakkari on Saturday. These victories have helped silence her critics after a tough start to 2025.

The Miami Open is special for Gauff because it’s her home tournament. So far, she’s playing some of her best tennis in front of a supportive crowd.

Her first win in Miami was a quick and dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory against Sofia Kenin, finishing in just 47 minutes. The match against Sakkari was more challenging, but Gauff still managed to win. This was her second win over Sakkari in a short time, as she also defeated her at Indian Wells a few weeks ago.

Talking about her match with Sakkari, Gauff said, “I knew it wouldn’t be as easy as my match against Kenin. I tried to leave that match in the past and focus on today.”

Gauff and Sakkari now have a tied head-to-head record of 5-5. However, Gauff seems to be getting the better of Sakkari lately. Gauff noted, “I knew she wouldn’t play the same way as last time because smart players adjust. She played better today, and I think I did too.”

After her win, Gauff wrote on the camera lens, “When I die, bury me in the sun – Fike.” This is a line from the song Sunburn by Dominic Fike, which talks about Florida’s hot weather.

Meanwhile, Sakkari is struggling. She was a top-10 player last September, but now she’s ranked No. 51. She hasn’t won back-to-back matches since the Olympics last summer, and she hasn’t done so on hard courts since last year’s Miami Open.

At just 21 years old, Gauff has become the youngest player to reach the Round of 16 at the Miami Open in back-to-back years since Garbine Muguruza in 2012-2013. She’s also the youngest player to earn 75 main draw wins in WTA-1000 events since 2009. Her 58 hard-court wins in WTA-1000 events are the most by any player before turning 22.

Gauff’s next match will be against Magda Linette, who defeated qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova.