Coco Gauff makes complaint after reaching Cincinnati Open quarter-finals

Coco Gauff cruised into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals with a commanding 6–2, 6–4 victory over Lucia Bronzetti, though the second seed didn't hold back from highlighting one tricky element of the contest: the tennis balls.

The American star, who had earlier progressed to the third round via walkover, confessed after her triumph: "For the most part I played aggressive. Maybe got a bit passive in some of those games. But it's tough. The balls are super light and they fly."

Gauff, determined to banish the ghosts of her stunning Wimbledon disappointment earlier this season, went on to discuss the challenges presented by her Italian opponent's tactics, explaining: "She wasn't giving me much pace. I was trying to play with control but also aggressive. For the most part I think I did well. I had chances in a couple of those games. I missed a couple balls. But I learned from it and was able to close it out."

Her triumph against Bronzetti represented her 19th WTA 1000 quarter-final berth before turning 22, a remarkable achievement that eclipses Serena Williams' record in that particular bracket.

Only tennis legends Maria Sharapova (20) and Martina Hingis (39) remain ahead of her statistics, whilst Gauff continues crafting her own remarkable sporting story.

The victory secures Gauff a quarter-final clash with Jasmine Paolini, as the talented youngster pursues her second Cincinnati crown, having previously seized the trophy in 2023 aged just 19. She also praised Cincinnati's venue and its remarkable transformation, stating: "It's been really cool. Literally, when I talked to you guys last time, I had got out of the car and came straight to the press conference room.

"So, I've now been able to explore it. Yeah, I said on the tennis channel, my favorite is like the unlimited food."

She beamed with delight after discovering The Clubhouse, an enormous 56,000-square-foot facility constructed for the players.

"I just, and they had that here before, but I don't know, just having acai bowls and smoothies and all of that has been cool, but also just the space and the facilities here are great," she explained.

"Like just having space to be alone. I feel like a lot of times these tournaments, we see each other all the time."

Whilst she stays concentrated on her display, the lightweight balls weren't a worry exclusively for her. On the ATP Tour, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner also commented on the unusual behaviour of the tennis balls, observing that they appeared to play quicker than normal.

Speaking to 'Tennis TV,' Sinner revealed: "From my point of view, the tennis balls are getting smaller. The more you play, the smaller they get. That is very strange because usually they open up and get slower, but here they get actually faster."

Despite these demanding circumstances, Gauff's capacity to balance attacking play with precision and adapt from narrow margins proves crucial.