WTA 1000 Cincinnati: Coco Gauff and Sara Bejlek in the semifinals

Coco Gauff defeated Marta Kostyuk with a score of 6-2, 6-2, reaching the semifinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, where she will face the Czech Sara Bejlek (world no. 35), the revelation of the tournament. Faced with a focused and determined Gauff, the Ukrainian Kostyuk (n.11) was never able to find an answer and let her frustration show between one point and another. The American closed the match with a backhand winner.

Bejlek, 21 years old, after eliminating world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16, reached the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in her career. She did so by defeating American Madison Keys (n.24) with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). Keys had initially taken a 4-2 lead in the first set thanks to her impressive stroke depth. But Bejlek raised his level in the second set, varying his shots and finding greater consistency in his rallies. With the second set in her pocket, she got a break in the third, but was scared away by a powerful smash from Keys that allowed her to recover to 4-3. In the end, it was intensity that paid off, and the Czech player gave it her all in the tie-break to defeat the 2025 Australian Open champion.