World No. 4 Coco Gauff at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 18, 2026.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff battled past Belgian Elise Mertens 2-6, 7-6(9), 6-3 on Wednesday (February 18) to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She will now face Alex Eala in the quarterfinals on Thursday (February 19). On Wednesday night's match with Mertens, the 21-year-old American hit 16 double faults and had to save three match points in a tense second-set tiebreak before turning the match around in two hours and 18 minutes. “I'm trying to be positive,” Gauff admitted. “I'm critical. I feel like the last tournament I took some steps forward, and today I took some steps backwards, but still got the win. It’s a weird feeling. I feel conflicted. It wasn't the prettiest, but I'm also happy. I could have easily lost.” Gauff struggled early, losing the first set in just 33 minutes with a flurry of unforced errors. Even in the second set, she found herself under pressure. But when facing match points, she dug deep. “I feel like it's almost easier to play when you’re down than when you have the match in your hands,” she said. “When I lost the first set, I really wanted to fight for that second and give myself the opportunity to compete in the third.” After forcing a deciding set, she secured a crucial break at 4-3 and did not look back. “I don’t even remember the last time I saved match points, probably when I was 15, so I’m really happy to get through today — it was a long one.” PIA/MFD/Expat Media
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