Coco Gauff stunned world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka by defeating her in straight sets to get to the WTA World Tour Finals.
The American athlete faced world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the group stages and went on to win her second unexpected victory of the event against Sabalenka, winning the match 7-6(4), 6-3 in an hour and fifty-one minutes.
Highlights of the game
Despite threatening Sabalenka in the Belarusian’s opening service game, Gauff failed to convert two break point attempts. She broke herself in the following game as the top seed imposed her own agenda on the match. As the first set hovered toward a tiebreak, Gauff retaliated exceptionally to equalize the scores.
Gauff dominated the breaker, earning all four of Sabalenka’s initial service points before ultimately completing her third set point after the two traded breaks at 5-5 and 6-5.
Gauff maintained her momentum and won the second set, leading 4-1 and up a double break. Sabalenka grabbed an eighth breakpoint to cut the lead in half. However, Gauff booked herself in the finals by making one last break.
With her win, Gauff declared: “I’m happy with the way I played… Playing against Aryna, she’s always going to be a tough match. I just tried to stay in it. She’s world No. 1 for a reason, and I’m happy with how I played today.”
She added: “A break in tennis means nothing, to be honest. People think too much about it. I just knew I needed to win a game to stay in the set, and I was lucky that I broke in that game.”
Gauff will now face Zheng Qinwen of China, who won against eighth seed Barbora Krejcikova in the other semi-final. Krejcikova defeated Gauff in the group stages.
Gauff said: “[Zheng] is playing great tennis. Just playing confident[ly] will help me give me the best shot at winning. I’m not nervous, to be honest. Winning is a plus, and even being here is a reward for the season that I had.
“I think [Zheng] likes the courts here. She’s tough. A really good server, a really good mover. We kind of have different game styles in a way. It’s going to be a tough match, but I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be curious to see the last time two people who are pretty young in the final,” she added.
Source: Eurosport