Coco Gauff Wins With TWO MINUTES To Spare Amid Wimbledon Curfew Drama | WATCH

Last Updated:July 06, 2026, 10:57 IST

Coco Gauff beat Belinda Bencic and Wimbledon's 11 p.m. curfew, sealing her maiden quarter-final spot with just two minutes to spare in a dramatic Centre Court finish.

The clock is supposed to be irrelevant in tennis. Matches end when someone wins the last point, not when time runs out.

But on Centre Court, time became Coco Gauff’s fiercest opponent.

With Wimbledon’s strict 11 p.m. curfew looming over the All England Club, Gauff found herself sprinting not just toward a place in the quarterfinals, but against the ticking hands of the clock.

Two minutes before play would have been suspended for the night, the American uncorked a wide service winner on her very first match point to defeat Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and finally break into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time.

As the ball flew untouched, Gauff celebrated with a tap on her left wrist — a playful nod to the dramatic finish.

“I was looking at the clock the last service game," Gauff admitted. “I was like, ‘I got to hit some big serves and some big shots.’ And honestly, that match point, I was going for a serve and volley because I was like, ‘I need to end the point.'"

The moment reminded her of one of basketball’s most iconic finishes.

“It kind of reminded me of" Kawhi Leonard’s famous Game 7 buzzer-beater for the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA playoffs, Gauff said.

Had she failed to convert that opportunity, the match would have been halted and resumed on Monday.

“That was probably the most dramatic finish. I’ve never had to race against time. Playing tennis we’re used to not having a clock. But honestly, today I felt the pressure… Glad I didn’t choose basketball."

Gauff laughed that although she played basketball as a child, she “did not hit any buzzer-beaters."

Since bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old in 2019, Gauff had reached the Wimbledon fourth round four times but had never taken the next step. This time, she did.

“I’m definitely hungry for more," she said. “But it’s a great accomplishment."

Her reward is an all-American quarterfinal against Jessica Pegula, who rallied past fellow American Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

About the Author

Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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