Gauff ignites in Madrid moments before power crash

Coco Gauff timed it perfectly on Monday at the Madrid Masters, clinching a place in the quarter-finals moments before a huge power outage which shut down play at the Caja Magica.

The power outages have hit large parts of Spain and Portugal and are due to ‘a rare atmospheric phenomenon’

Airports have lost power, traffic lights and phone lines are down, the Madrid underground has been evacuated and trains have been stopped.

The fourth seed defeated Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2, salting away victory before the power cut felt across much of Spain struck, stopping play on all courts temporarily.

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Caught mid-match was Briton Jokob Fearnley, who trailed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 5-4.

Gauff has never reached the last eight in Madrid and will play her next round against teenage tyro Mirra Andreeva.

The 17-year-old who owns titles this season from Dubai and Indian Wells, booked the quarters for a second year in succession, defeating qualifier Yulia Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-4.

Andreeva, one day prior to her 28th birthday, squeezed through despite the power problems onsite, which arrived as she was serving for victory.

The power cut occurred as Andreeva was serving for the match, but she managed to save four break points to get over the line before play was paused on all courts.

Gauff has beaten Andreeva in both of their previous 2023 meetings, at the French and US Opens.

The pair are now the two youngest in the WTA top 30; Andreeva will bid for a sixth victory in a row against a top 10 opponent 

The teenager saved nine of 10 break points in her victory over the No. 99 as she advanced to the business end of the clay event.

Main photo:- Coco Gauff in action – by ISFLtd