Coco Gauff became the latest player to fall victim to a stomach virus sweeping through the Madrid Open draw, but the ailing American still managed to defeat Sorana Cirstea 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday to reach the round of 16.
Illness Strikes Madrid Open
Several players have been struggling with illness in the Spanish capital this week. Iga Swiatek was forced to retire from her match against Ann Li on Saturday, while Marin Cilic withdrew ahead of his second-round meeting with Joao Fonseca on Friday. Liudmila Samsonova also pulled out of the tournament on Sunday citing illness before her third-round match with Linda Noskova.
Gauff's Gutsy Performance
Gauff vomited into a bin on court during her clash with Cirstea and requested a medical timeout in the latter stages of the match before completing the win in two hours and 21 minutes. "Yeah, I don't know, honestly (how I got through that)," Gauff said. "I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So, I'm just going to try to push through for tomorrow."
A runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid 12 months ago, Gauff has 3,300 points to defend on clay from Madrid through to her Roland Garros title defense in early June. "I pulled out in Indian Wells. I'm not someone who likes to pull out, so I didn't want to pull out again today. So, I'm glad that I was able to get through it," added the two-time Grand Slam champion. "I did start to feel better, not feeling like I had to throw up. They gave me some pills, so that definitely helped. But I was really tired... The first part was literally just trying to keep whatever I ate down. Once they gave me something to help with that, then I was just nauseous and tired. But I can deal with that."
Gauff will face Noskova in the last 16.
