Gauff, Swiatek, Rybakina reach Dubai quarter-finals

Coco Gauff pulled off a comeback win in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Round of 16 on Wednesday, outlasting former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to claim a quarterfinal spot.

The 19-year-old reigning US Open champion Gauff collected the win over Pliskova after 1 hour and 53 minutes of play, edging ahead 2-1 in their head-to-head.

“I feel like [Pliskova’s] been playing well since the start of the year, coming back from injury,” Gauff said, after her win. “Even though her ranking is probably not where it should be considering the caliber of player she is, I think it definitely felt like a top win for me. Hopefully I can continue to use that to build my confidence going into the rest of this week.”

Gauff’s next opponent will be qualifier Anna Kalinskaya, the World No.40 and It will be their first career meeting.

Elsewhere, World No.1 Iga Swiatek toppled No.15 seed and two-time former champion Elina Svitolina in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday, 6-1, 6-4 to run her winning streak in the Middle East to six straight.

Doha champion Swiatek won seven straight games from 1-1 in the first set to put herself in good position against Svitolina.

No.4 seed Elena Rybakina survived a stern test from qualifier Magdalena Frech in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, coming from 5-3 down in the first set to eventually win 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.

The former Wimbledon champion will next face the unseeded Jasmine Paolini, who came from 3-1 down in the first set and 2-0 down in the second to upset No.8 seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2.