Coco Gauff raced against the clock and beat the Wimbledon curfew to reach the quarter-finals for the first time with a dramatic victory over Belinda Bencic.
Following the five-set match between Felix Auger-Alassime and Alejandro Davidovic Fokina earlier on Sunday, Gauff and Bencic did not take to the court until 8:30pm local time, with play starting under the roof on Court No 1.
The Wimbledon curfew, which is set by Merton Council and has been in place since Centre Court opened its roof in 2009, does not allow play to continue past 11pm local time to limit potential disruption for local residents.
Gauff, the seventh seed and two-time major champion, forced the deciding set against former Olympics champion Bencic at just after 10pm and immediately went for a break up in the third.
Bencic broke back, however, and forced Gauff to serve for her place in the quarter-finals at 10:56pm and with just minutes to spare before the curfew. Gauff managed, sealing victory with an unreturned wide serve at 10:58pm.
Gauff, who celebrated by pointing at her wrist, famously reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old on her Wimbledon debut in 2019. But she had not made it past the last-16 in five previous attempts.
“Super happy to be in the quarters finally,” Gauff said. “I don’t know how many tries it’s been. I was looking at the clock the last service game. I was like, I’ve gotta hit some big serves and big shots.
“Honestly that match point I was going for a serve and volley because I was like ‘I need to end the point’.
“This was probably the most dramatic finish. I’ve never had to race against time. Playing tennis we’re used to not having a clock. But honestly today I felt the pressure. I’m glad I didn’t choose basketball.
“I’m hungry for more. It’s a great accomplishment, first time in my career. I reached the fourth round in my first year playing so it’s been a couple of years, but I’m happy with this result for sure.
“I felt like the first set, a couple of points and it goes my way I had chances to go up a double-break. I just knew I had to hone in on the tennis I’ve been playing. It was a tough match but it was my best match of the tournament so far.”
Gauff will play compatriot Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, for a place in the semi-finals.
At 22, Gauff, who has won titles at the Australian Open and the French Open, has reached at least the quarter-finals at all four grand slams.
