United Cup: Coco Gauff gives USA the upper hand in quarter-final against China with win over Shuai Zhang

American star Coco Gauff has taken her country to the verge of a United Cup semifinal — but not before a scare in her match against China’s Shuai Zhang at RAC Arena. The world no.3 saw off a spirited effort from Zhang to win 7-6 6-2, but did not have it all her own way despite her opponent being ranked more than 200 spots lower. Amid a first set which contained six service breaks, Zhang — who replaced Xinyu Gao in the singles — served for the opening set, only for Gauff to claw back a game and then take the first in a tiebreaker. The 53 minute first set was a far cry from the 36 minute second set as Gauff raced out to a big lead, only for Zhang to once more prove a thorn in her side. Eventually though, the 20 year-old was able to triumph, setting up teammate Taylor Fritz ahead of his singles clash with Zhizhen Zhang, with a win sending the USA through to the final four in Sydney. Zhang broke Gauff in the opening game, and despite the American responding immediately with a break of her own, Zhang played with no fear as she was was cheered on by an impressive crowd filled with China fans. Predominantly a doubles specialist, Zhang looked to have the upper hand when she broke to lead 4-3, only for Gauff to again hit back and a few games later, it was deja vu all over again as Zhang broke to go up 6-5 but her opponent refused to let her gain the upper hand. Gauff sported a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, and the lead was enough to hand her the first set. Her confidence apparently renewed, Gauff broke Zhang again to start the second set, before consolidating and setting herself up nicely with a 3-0 lead. But again, Zhang broke Gauff and refused to let her out of her sight and was still right in the match at 4-2 down, serving with a 30-0 advantage. But Gauff showed her resolve to reel off four consecutive points to serve for the match; despite having three match points in the decisive game, she could not convert immediately, before eventually getting the job done.