dpNo. 4 seed Coco Gauff recovered from a set down to defeat Liudmila Samsonova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday night. She will face No. 28 seed and fellow American Ann Li for a spot in the round of 16.
After Samsonova won the first set 6-2, Gauff earned a critical break in the 10th game of the second set to force a decider. The 2023 champion dominated the third set, winning the final five games to complete the comeback in 2 hours, 6 minutes.
“I knew when I saw the draw and I had to play her, especially after her run in Toronto, I was like, this is a tough match,” Gauff said to WTATennis.com after the win. “Not the ideal first match, but it kind of played out how I thought it would honestly. Obviously, not wanting to lose a set, the first set, but I just know when she gets hot is tough and I don’t think I played too well in the first and then my level started to get better and better. I think the rain delay did help, so I’m definitely grateful for that.”
Here are some key stats from Gauff’s latest win:
5: This was Gauff’s fifth win in as many matches against Samsonova on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. Three of those wins have now come in three sets, with Samsonova winning the first set each time before Gauff rallied to win.
10: This was her 10th comeback win of the season, rallying from a set down to win in three sets. She ties compatriot Jessica Pegula for the most such wins on tour in 2026.
15: This was Gauff’s 15th three-set win of the season, the most by any player on the WTA Tour in 2026.
20: The win was Gauff’s 20th on hard courts in 2026. She is seeking her first WTA title this year, with her best result on hardcourts coming at the Miami Open, where she finished runner-up.
35: This was the 22-year-old’s 35th WTA-level match win of 2026, tying her with Karolina Muchova. Only five players have more WTA-level match wins this season: Elina Svitolina, Pegula, Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva and Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff will next face No. 28 seed Li for a spot in the round of 16. Li defeated Zhang Shuai 7-5, 6-3 earlier Sunday. Gauff leads the head-to-head series 3-0, winning all three previous meetings in straight sets.
