Madrid Open 2022 scores, winner and recap: Simona Halep scores 30th win, sees off Coco Gauff to advance to the quarterfinals

Halep scored her 30th main draw victory in the Madrid Open.

Simona Halep overcame a second set hiccup to overcome Coco Gauff in straight sets and advance to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.

Halep has now won all six sets she's contested against the American teenage sensation, improving her head-to-head to 3-0.

Simona Halep vs Coco Gauff Score

Simona Halep beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4.

Simona Halep tallies her 30th win in Madrid, defeating Coco Gauff 64 64 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The only tournaments at which Halep has won more main draw matches are Australian Open (31) and Roland Garros (31).

#MMOPEN https://t.co/Gr1FWZ33qy

Simona Halep vs Coco Gauff Winner

Simona Halep's win over Coco Gauff marked her 30th main-draw match victory in Madrid. The Romanian also got her first claycourt win over Gauff and will face Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals.

3⃣0⃣ match wins

Two-time champion 🇷🇴 @Simona_Halep reaches a magic milestone at the #MMOPEN https://t.co/67RMpCqJZK

Simona Halep vs Coco Gauff Recap

Halep kept her composure in crucial moments as Gauff stumbled, coughing up 30 unforced errors to help the Romanian's cause.

To make matters worse, Gauff chalked up six double faults as Halep raced to victory.

Winning is in her DNA! 💪💪

🇷🇴 @Simona_Halep defeats Coco Gauff (6-4, 6-4) to return to the #MMOPEN quarters after three years away. https://t.co/HtAdbXFQvU

Halep took control of a tight first set by breaking Gauff in the ninth game as the American served up an untimely double fault. The Romanian did not face a break point in the opener as she held serve to win the first set 6-4.

But it wasn't as easy for the Romanian in the second set as Gauff stepped up her game and broke with a forehand winner to jump to a 2-0 lead. Gauff held her serve at love, capping it with an ace to go 3-0 up in just 12 minutes.

She's on fire! 🔥🔥🔥

🇷🇴 @Simona_Halep clinches the opening set vs Gauff (6-4). On her way to the quarterfinals?

#MMOPEN https://t.co/5VzC6FGJlu

But errors crept into Gauff's game, especially on the backhand wing, that allowed Halep to get a foothold in the set. Gauff nearly gave away her advantage as she double faulted to hand Halep a break point. But the American struck back-to-back aces to maintain her lead at 4-1.

After a comfortable hold by Halep, Gauff raced to a 40-0 lead on her own serve, but threw in three double faults to give Halep the break back.

Halep, seeking her third title in the tournament after winning in 2016 and 2017, displayed steely resolve as she won nine of 10 points to draw level at 4-4.

Four miscues on Gauff's forehand handed Halep another break before the Romanian held serve to take the victory.