American 22-year-old Coco Gauff reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Switzerland’s 29-year-old Belinda Bencic on No. 1 Court in two hours and 18 minutes.

The victory sends the No. 7 seed into the last eight at the All England Club, where she continues her pursuit of a third Grand Slam singles title.

Bencic, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, stayed with Gauff throughout much of the contest and tested the American with her aggressive ball-striking. But Gauff’s athleticism, power, and ability to raise her level in the biggest moments ultimately proved the difference.

Despite getting off to a fast start—winning the first three games—Gauff double faulted six times in the first set and had 14 forehand errors. Bencic steadied herself and turned things around with only 10 unforced errors and 4 winners.

Gauff fought back in the second set, breaking Bencic in the fourth game. At 5-3, Gauff clinched the set with a beautiful drop shot/lob combination.

(Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)

In the final set, Gauff elevated her game. She broke in the first game and again in the fifth game, then protected her lead with confident serving and composed baseline play. Serving for the match and against the clock with Wimbledon’s 11 pm curfew approaching, she sealed the victory with a fantastic serve out wide just in time.

Gauff finished with 34 winners, 4 aces, and 9 double faults. She won 69 percent of first-serve points and 40 percent of second-serve points while converting 5 of 12 break points.

Bencic, making her 10th Wimbledon main-draw appearance, was seeking a return to the semifinals after last year’s run. The former Olympic gold medalist pushed Gauff throughout but was unable to find a way past the American’s speed and controlled aggression in the closing stages.

In her post-match press conference, Gauff said: “It was, I think, a high-quality match from

both of us. It was a thriller, honestly. I think this was so far my best match of the tournament, probably one of my best grass matches ever. I’m definitely proud with the level I brought today.”

When asked if she was thinking about the time, Gauff said: “Honestly, I was thinking about it the

whole match. I don’t know if I went to it, but before the match, they told both of us at 11:00, da-da-da, the whole spiel.

“Then we started the first set, I think it was like 10:05. No, we started the third set at 10:05. It should be enough to finish this set, but I don’t know.

“Then we had a couple long games. The next thing you know, it’s 10:45, and I was like, Oh, my goodness. I did not want to come out here tomorrow. I was just trying to get up a break and stay up a break ’cause I was like, I’d rather come out here on serve up a break instead of the other way.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize that once we started the last game that, however long it took, we would be allowed to finish. I thought literally at 11:00 it was wraps. It was good to know for next time that I don’t have to rush as much.”