Jean-Guy Fugère
On Friday night, the quarterfinal surprise of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers came straight from Italy.
World No.71 Camila Giorgi disposed of the promising young American Coco Gauff (6-4, 7-6 (2)) in a match full of ups and downs.
Giorgi had been successful against the 15th seed in the past. The Italian ace was coming off two back-to-back wins against Gauff without dropping a set. In addition to Palermo, she can now add Montréal to her list of straight-set victories.
Coco didn’t shine as bright as we hoped she would. She hit only 37.9% of her second serves in play versus 54.2% for her opponent. Broken four times and guilty of six double faults (none for Giorgi), Gauff couldn’t find the rhythm she needed against her more meticulous and better prepared rival.
The American didn’t play her matches leading into the quarters owing to two consecutive withdrawals, and the lack of court time proved fatal.
Collecting 80 points versus 67, Camila Giorgi achieved a masterfully orchestrated win.
