Coco Gauff raced into the fourth round to equal her best run at Wimbledon, but acknowledged she has bigger aspirations at the All England Club this year.
The US Open champion beat British number nine Sonay Kartal 6-4 6-0 on Court One in 62 minutes to set up an all-American clash with 19th seed Emma Navarro in the last 16.
Gauff first made the Wimbledon fourth round during her breakout tournament as a 15-year-old in 2019 before she repeated the feat two years later, but exited in round one last year.
Second seed Gauff admitted to always being nervous at this grand slam and while victory over Navarro would earn her a place in the prestigious ‘Last 8 Club’ – a lifetime membership for quarter-finalist in SW19 which contains several perks – loftier goals are being set.
Asked if she entered this tournament thinking of leaving with the trophy, Gauff admitted: “Yes.
“It feels as if losing in the fourth or the quarter-finals feels the same, in a way just because I do have such big aspirations.
“I feel like it sucks to say this, but once you win, you kind of take it for granted. I try not to obviously.
“When you make a lot of quarter-finals in slams, in general it just makes you want to make it to semi-final. You make a couple semi-finals, you want to make the final. It doesn’t feel like a big (accomplishment) or anything.
“Obviously it would be really special here because I think the final eight club is the most established here. That would be really cool to get that.
“It’s definitely the most nervous I get when it comes to slams. It’s just something special, the history behind this tournament. It just feels very exclusive.
“I don’t know if it’s because it was my first big tournament. I don’t know if that’s the thing, or just Wimbledon in itself.
“For some reason, I always get nervous here, especially in the first round. Now I’m past that, so I’m OK.”
Navarro is up next for Gauff after she had to battle back from a set down to beat Diana Shnaider on Court 18.
Emma Raducanu continued her brilliant form with a 6-2 6-3 success over Maria Sakkari.
Former US Open champion Raducanu will face qualifier Lulu Sun in the last 16 after the New Zealander clinched another week in SW19 with a narrow victory over Zhu Lin.
Rain wiped out the first two hours of play on Friday, which meant Jasmine Paolini got the day five action under way on Court One and she was the first player through to the last 16 with a 7-6 (4) 6-1 win over former grand-slam champion Bianca Andreescu.
Madison Keys, the 12th seed, is up next for French Open runner-up Paolini after she defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-3 on Court 17 after All England Club organisers switched the venue from last on Court 12 given the weather forecast.
Paula Badosa managed to beat the rain to down Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (6) 4-6 6-4 in two hours and 51 minutes.
It was the first time the Spaniard, who has faced several fitness struggles in recent years, had made the fourth round of a grand-slam since 2022 and she was emotional after her victory, which sets up a meeting with Donna Vekic, who edged out Dayana Yastremska in three.
Badosa said: “It’s not my first time in a second week, but I think it’s the most special one.
“I’m really proud of myself after all. I’ve been struggling a lot with injuries and it’s been now a long time that I wasn’t in a second week.
“For me, it meant so much.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
