Gauff books quarter-final spot in Stuttgart with victory over Samsonova
Coco Gauff joins Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open after she beat Liudmila Samsonova.
The second seed won 7-5 6-1 in an hour and 37 minutes to set up a last-eight clash with Karolina Muchova in Germany.
It was a nervy start from Gauff, who saw her opening two service games result in breaks as Samsonova raced into a 3-0 lead.
However, Gauff responded strongly, clinching back-to-back breaks of her own to level the first set at 3-3.
Samsonova stunned Gauff again, bringing up the opportunity to serve for the set, but the American then reeled off three consecutive games to clinch the opener in 62 minutes.
The second was far more straightforward for last year's Roland-Garros champion, who dropped just two points on her way to a 4-0 lead before securing victory from her first match point.













