With a place in the China Open round of 16 at stake, Katie Boulter And Coco Gauff Compete in the exciting third round on Sunday.

Both seeded teams recorded straight-set wins in their opening matches in Beijing as Boulter triumphed over Gauff's compatriot Taylor Townsendwhile the Americans sent the French Clara Burel Packaging.

Game preview

© Imago

Playing her first WTA singles match since her US Open second-round failure, Boulter needed just over 90 minutes to claim her first win in almost a month against the unfancied Townsend, defeating her 6-6 in the second round. 4 and 6:4 defeated second round.

While her American opponent had to overcome a three-set series in the first round Martina TrevisanBoulter secured a second-round bye thanks to her 26th-place finish and took advantage of her extra preparation time, even though she got off to the worst start.

In fact, the British number one was immediately broken as Townsend took a 3-0 lead, but Boulter kept her composure and had an exceptional serving performance to her credit, which ensured an outstanding turnaround as she didn't miss a single first serve in the entire match. Hour and 33 minute competition.

Boulter was guilty of being a bit wasteful on break points, wasting 75% of the chances presented to her (nine out of 12), but the 28-year-old's ability to recover was on full display when she finally canceled out Townsend's forehand.

After his elimination from the US Open Jessica Bouzas Maneiro – a defeat she described to her field team as “terrible” – Boulter doubted her own winning mentality, but the manner of Friday's comeback should serve as an important opener ahead of Sunday's heavyweight showdown.

© Imago

Boulter's upcoming opponent Gauff also left New York, ruining what could have been – after her title defense surprisingly failed Emma Navarro in the fourth round – and her fight with Burel was also her comeback appearance after her early exit from Flushing Meadows.

Similar to Boulter, the world number six had to struggle in the second round against Burel after immediately losing her serve, but she emerged victorious from a tumultuous first set and narrowly took the second set, winning by 7 – 5 6-3 in an hour and 40 minutes.

World number 56 Burel broke Gauff three times in the opening game and had a chance to serve for the set at 5-4, but the unflappable Gauff fought back decisively before converting her first goal at the start of a four-game winning streak Match point after a less chaotic second.

Gauff was still looking to significantly improve her serve and double-faulted six times against Burel, but praised her aggressiveness on the back end, which had earned 17 break points throughout the contest.

Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka could wait for the winner of this seeded fight in the fourth round – if she makes it Katie Volynets – but nothing can separate Boulter and Gauff in a head-to-head clash ahead of their third top-level meeting.

tournament so far

Katie Boulter:

First round: against Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-4

Coco Gauff:

First round: against Clara Burel 7-5 6-3

Head to head

National Bank Open (2023) – Second Round: Gauff wins 6-2 6-2
Melbourne 500 Gippsland Trophy (2021) – Stage: Boulter wins 3-6, 7-5, 6-2

As previously mentioned, neither Boulter nor Gauff has the other to brag about on the WTA Tour, having each claimed a win in their previous competitions.

The young Gauff first faced Boulter in 2021 at the Gippsland Trophy, where the Brit – who competed via a protected ranking – recovered from the first set defeat to eliminate her teenage opponent.

However, Gauff was able to get revenge two years later in Montreal by dominating the British number one in the second round and only losing four games.

We say: Gauff wins in two sets

Boulter can certainly expect to pick up a few cheap points this weekend thanks to double faults from Gauff, and the No. 26 seed put in impeccable performances in their win over Townsend, even if, like Gauff, they got off to a false start.

However, the former US Open champion made extremely easy work of Boulter on the hard courts of Montreal last year and should use her front-footed approach to devastating effect to secure her place in round four.

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