Gauff survives Wimbledon scare, edges Sierra in three-set thriller
Down 7-4 in the deciding tiebreak, Coco Gauff ran off six straight points and a 117 mph ace to outlast Solana Sierra at Wimbledon.
Coco Gauff had to absorb a sharp momentum swing, then answer under the heaviest pressure, before edging Solana Sierra 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-7) at Wimbledon and moving into the third round. The No. 7 seed finished the 2-hour, 8-minute battle on Court One with six straight points in the deciding tiebreak, capping the comeback with a 117 mph ace on one of her match points.
The opening set suggested a routine afternoon for the reigning major champion. Gauff controlled much of the first stretch, but her level dipped in the second and Sierra, ranked No. 56 in the world, seized the opening. The Argentine moved ahead 4-1 in the middle set and kept the match leaning her way into the decider, where she served for the match and later led 7-4 in the final-set tiebreak. Gauff then steadied herself long enough to turn the match at the end, surviving a bizarre stretch that included a serve that went sideways into the umpire’s chair and a sequence of breaks and counter-breaks that made the contest feel more like a tug of war than a straight climb to the finish.
On 1 July 2026, seven years had passed since Gauff’s breakthrough moment at the All England Club, when the 15-year-old qualifier shocked Venus Williams on No. 1 Court on 1 July 2019. This time, Gauff was the one fighting to avoid an upset on the same stage. She had never advanced beyond the Wimbledon fourth round before this tournament. It was also her first victory in a deciding-set tiebreak at a major, and she had already won the US Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025.
Gauff’s path now continues against fellow American Claire Liu. Sierra’s 2026 season pushed her to a career-high ranking of No. 56.
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