Thrilling comeback keeps Coco Gauff's Wimbledon dreams alive

Gauff showed impressive resiliency in the victory, breaking Sierra's serve for the match up 5-4 after she had won her previous nine service games.

The world's seventh-ranked player then won arguably the point of the match during the third set-break tie, taking an 8-7 lead with a backhand winner to punctuate an incredible rally.

Despite having her breakout moment at 2019 Wimbledon with a first-round win over Venus Williams, Gauff entered this year's tournament 11-6 in the main draw at the All England Club, losing in the first round twice (2023, 2025) and never advancing past the fourth round. For a player with U.S. Open and Roland Garros titles — plus an Australian Open semifinal — Wimbledon has been a relative house of horrors.

The stirring comeback keeps Gauff's hopes of another breakthrough alive, but her path is far from clear. If she moves past Liu, Gauff will get No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic or No. 19 seed Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round, with either representing a tough test while she seeks a first quarterfinal trip. As impressive as Wednesday's win was, it will be even more meaningful the longer Gauff remains in contention.