Fitness update following Gauff’s gritty comebackCoco Gauff came from behind to beat Sorana Cirstea and book her place in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.

After dropping the first set and feeling unwell early in the second, it looked like Gauff’s tournament might be over.

But she managed to turn things around, fighting back for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win that sets up a meeting with Linda Noskova. The pair have split their two previous meetings.

After the match, Gauff provided an update on her fitness following what was clearly a physically challenging afternoon.

After the match, Gauff spoke to Sky Sports about how she was feeling physically: “I mean, I don’t know how I got it done. I’m just dealing with a lot of, like, trying to keep my food down.

“But once I threw up and I was able to throw up again after the first set, and then throw up again, I feel a lot better.

“I don’t know, it was just a tough match. I think I got the Madrid virus, the stomach virus that’s going around.

“And I’m usually someone who doesn’t get sick. So I don’t know. My luck today just wasn’t good.”

She added: “But honestly, the clay maybe helped me today because the points were a little… the ball was a little bit slower.

“So it bounced higher. So I think it gave me more time to kind of get to some balls when I wasn’t, like, moving my best.”

Gauff holds a 2-0 record over Noskova in their previous encounters, both of which took place on hard courts.

Their first match came at the 2023 Indian Wells Open, where Gauff won in straight sets. They met again later that year at the Cincinnati Open, with Gauff delivering an even stronger performance to win 6-4, 6-0.

This will be their first meeting on clay, and with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, it adds a new element to what has already been an interesting matchup between the two players.

After Madrid win, Mirra Andreeva confesses the one thing she can’t stand about clay

How Coco Gauff’s game was built for clay, according to Coco Vandeweghe