American McCartney Kessler earned the first Top 10 victory of her young career on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, upsetting No. 3 seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 7-5.
Dubai: Draws | Scores | Order of play
University of Florida alumna Kessler was 0-2 against Top 10 players last year -- her second full season as a pro -- before she topped Gauff in just under an hour and a half on Dubai's Court 1 as day turned to evening thanks to a nearly five-hour rain delay that disrupted the day's schedule. Playing a Top 5 player for the first time, the world No. 53 saved five of the six break points she faced -- only losing serve when she tried to serve out the match for the first time at 6-4, 5-4 -- and broke Gauff's serve three times.
Kessler, who had upset Doha champion Amanda Anisimova in the first round, is through to the third round of a WTA 1000 for the first time in her career, and will face No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova, who defeated 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu 7-6(6), 6-4.
More to come...
