Coco Gauff beats Belinda Bencic to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals

American seventh seed Coco Gauff has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time after a dramatic victory over Belinda Bencic just two minutes before the tournament’s 11pm curfew.

The two-time major champion secured her progress with a thrilling three-set win against the former Olympic gold medallist on Court No 1.

Play did not begin until 20:30 local time following a lengthy five-set match earlier on Sunday, meaning both competitors faced a strict 23:00 cut-off imposed by the local council.

Racing against the strict curfew

With time rapidly running out, the 22-year-old was forced to serve for the match at 22:56 and managed to seal the contest with an unreturned wide serve at 22:58.

The triumphant American pointed to her wrist in celebration after navigating an unusually time-pressured scenario for a professional tennis player.

She had previously failed to progress past the fourth round at SW19 in five attempts since making her famous tournament debut as a 15-year-old in 2019.

“This was probably the most dramatic finish,” Gauff said.

“I’ve never had to race against time; playing tennis we’re used to not having a clock, but honestly today I felt the pressure.”

Completing the Grand Slam set

Having already claimed titles at the Australian Open and French Open, the lightning-fast baseliner has now reached at least the quarter-final stage at all four Grand Slams.

She acknowledged checking the clock during her tense final service game, leading to a deliberate strategy to finish points as quickly as possible.

“Honestly that match point I was going for a serve and volley because I was like ‘I need to end the point’,” she explained.

The impressive youngster will now face her fourth-seeded compatriot Jessica Pegula for a highly anticipated place in the semi-finals.