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Teen Sensation Gauff Powers into WTA Finals Final
Coco Gauff extended her stellar end, beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to the season’s twin triumph with a win over Zheng Qinwen for a WTA Finals showpiece.
American Gauff, following a notched rarity win over Iga Swiatek in the group stage, grabbed on to a wayward Sabalenka.
The Australia and US Open champion was beaten by Gauff 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to reach the final of the season-ending women’s event for the first time.
Since her US Open title defense ended in the quarterfinals last week, the 20-year-old has lost just two of her 14 matches.
In the quarterfinals, Olympic champion Zheng, who beat Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 7-5, will face another first-time finalist.
She’s doing wonderfully. “Playing confident tennis will benefit me and give me the best chance of winning,” Gauff explained.
“Year-end, I consider it as a plus, and even being here is a reward for the season I’ve had.”
This year’s competition boasts a record prize money of £12 million.
Gauff Outlasts Error-Prone Sabalenka
After a stellar season, Sabalenka was frustrated, error-prone, and annoyed throughout as she secured the year-end world number one ranking this week.
But 16 unforced errors in the first set came off her forehand, and it faltered – such a crucial source of her beauty.
Early on, she and Gauff traded breaks, but Gauff was relaxed with the serve, knowing it’d mean an errant shot from Sabalenka after her ability to stretch the rally.
Sabalenka broke for a 6-5 lead and held for a 6-5 set. However, a macaroni locker netted by Sabalenka at the start of the 6-5 tiebreak gave Gauff control, leading by 4 points to 1 in the tiebreak that she completed.
Sabalenka fought back from a lengthy bathroom break, taking the second set off to a better start before another backhand miss sped Gauff’s rival into an early break.
A raucous Sabalenka saved a break point with a return winner and leveled the contest at 3-3 before Gauff broke once more for a 4-1 lead — but needed eight break points to do that after a mammoth run by the American in service.
With the match being so up and down, it seemed right that, come the end of a Sabalenka serve, a break was on the cards, and it was – and that Gauff would break while serving for the match at 5-2.
Sabalenka couldn’t delay the inevitable, and on her serve came a final netted backhand, the 37th unforced error of the night, that sealed it for Gauff.
Zheng Battles Past Krejcikova, Sets Up Final Showdown
The tournament has mixed crowds, but Zheng has been a favorite draw in Saudi Arabia with thousands of Chinese fans cheering her on during her match with Krejcikova.
Her game is simple: The first was a big serve, followed up with an equally thumping groundstroke, which in the opening exchanges worked to perfection against Krejcikova.
Krejcikova looked a little rattled. The Czech committed three double faults in her first service game before getting on top, but she then helped herself along with a dip in form from Kerber to level things on serve.
The baby situation wasn’t helped by Zheng’s service game twice stalling with a melancholy squirt. Her shots went wilder and wilder, but she somehow hung on to stay within touching distance of Krejcikova.
After celebrating a thunderous backhand return of serve to give Zheng break point at 5-5, she duly took it when Krejcikova failed to respond to a long forehand.
In response, Zheng also dominated Krejcikova, fighting off another breakpoint, but eventually cracking in a straight-set victory that included a forehand miss from the Czech wide.
“It feels so special – to be in the final is unbelievable,” the 22-year-old explained.
“It was a hard match for me, but it shows I am mentally strong in that moment.“
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My name is Krishanu Das the founder of the Sports Dribble.
I am Accountant by profession but a Sports Blogger by passion.
I am passionate about sharing my all knowledge and experiences of sports, with my readers and every sports enthusiast.
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