Former champ Gauff holds off Jovic to reach US Open quarter-finals

Coco Gauff, seeded fourth this year, beat the 14th-seeded Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes. (EPA Images pic)NEW YORK: Coco Gauff bested rising US star Iva Jovic on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time since winning the title three years ago.Gauff, seeded fourth this year, beat the 14th-seeded Jovic 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes.The match marked a rare instance in which two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff, still only 22, faced a younger American in the 18-year-old Jovic, who pushed Gauff in the second set after being routed in the first."She plays beyond her years," Gauff said. "I'm looking to many more battles out here."Gauff said she served "really well" and called the win, along with a second-round victory over Spain's Paula Badosa, her best matches so far this year.Broken to open the contest, Gauff reeled off six straight games to take the first set.Gauff said some of the marathon rallies left her breathless, but she came out on top of them more often than not.Jovic picked up the pace in the second set, rushing the net behind strong shots to keep Gauff on the defensive.Their net exchanges won loud applause from fans, and Gauff finished the match with a surprise serve-and-volley ambush, landing a volley that Jovic couldn't put back in play.Gauff will next face French Open champion and fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the quarter-finals.

Gauff has won all five of their prior meetings. The win marked another step forward for Belgian Alexander Blockx, who began the year outside the top 100 and had to qualify for the Australian Open. (EPA Images pic)NEW YORK: Alexander Blockx beat Francisco Cerundolo in four sets on Monday to become the first Belgian man ever to reach the US Open quarter-finals.The 21-year-old Blockx, seeded 28th in his Flushing Meadows debut, out-lasted 24th-seeded Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.Blockx, who upset fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli in the third round, backed up that win with a determined performance during which he received "magical medication" from the doctor to combat a "sharp pain in my rib."I was just holding on to be honest," Blockx said.

"Even though I won that first set 6-3, it could have been the other way round."The win marks the latest stepping stone for Blockx, who began the year outside the top 100 and had to qualify for the Australian Open.After splitting the first two sets, Blockx and Cerundolo stood level at 5-5 when the Belgian fell behind 0-40 on his serve.Blockx worked his way back with big serves and booming strokes, holding serve and breaking Cerundolo in the next game to take the third set.A tight fourth set went with serve until Blockx gained the winning break in the final game, falling to the ground in delight when a shot from the Argentine landed out."This morning I stepped onto this court for the first time to warm up and that felt unreal, so to play a match here and win a match here is even crazier," Blockx saidBlockx next faces the winner between unseeded Russian Karen Khachanov and 14th-seeded Learner Tien of the United States.