American teen sensation Coco Gauff fought “fire with fire” to come through a tension-fuelled second round against Marketa Vondrousova in Dubai on Tuesday, to join seeds Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka in the last-16 stage.
Contesting a seventh consecutive three-set match, Gauff needed two hours to dismiss the Czech No 12 seed 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and set up a third-round meeting with qualifier Tereza Martincova.
The contest took on an edge when 16-year-old Gauff complained to the umpire about how Vondrousova was catching her ball toss with her racquet instead of letting it bounce or capturing it with her hand, which she believed to be against the rules.
The incident sparked some tension between the pair as the match unfolded.
At one point Gauff aimed directly at Vondrousova’s body on a drive volley at the net and did not apologise. The Czech also forewent the courtesy apology when she claimed a point via a lucky net cord.
“My personality, I fight fire with fire,”…