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Gauff to face Zheng at WTA Finals

Posted on by Bobb
Gauff to face Zheng at WTA Finals

Coco Gauff © Getty Images

World number three Coco Gauff and world number seven Zheng Qingwen will meet in the WTA finals in Riyadh after impressive victories in the semi-finals on Friday.

Gauff, 20, knocked out world number one Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(7/4), 6-3 to become the youngest player to reach the final of the season finale since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

Zheng, an Olympic singles gold medalist this year, reached the final in her season-ending debut with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Gauff improved to 5-4 in head-to-head matches with Sabalenka and was the more consistent performer in their semi-final as she saved nine of 13 break points throughout the match.

“I’m happy with the way I played. I know that it will always be a difficult match for her against Arina. There’s a reason she’s number one in the world,” said the 2023 US Open champion.

Gauff beat Zheng in their only previous meeting on clay in Rome earlier this season, and the American was previously coached by Pere Riba, who is currently working with the Chinese player.

“She plays great tennis,” Gauff said of Zheng.

“Just playing tennis with confidence will help me and give me the best chance to win. I’m not particularly nervous. The end of the year has always been a bonus for me, and being here is already a privilege.”

The combined age of the tournament’s two finalists will be 42 years and 271 days, and Saturday’s match between Zheng and Gauff will be the youngest combined age for two tournament finalists since Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams in 2004.

In front of a lively crowd at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, Sabalenka was under pressure in her first serve, needing eight-and-a-half minutes to hold the score at 1-all after saving two break points.

Four errors from Gauff’s forehand cost her the next game as Sabalenka surged ahead for a 2-1 lead, but the Belarusian’s lead was short-lived as she immediately broke at love.

The pair were neck and neck until Sabalenka broke through in the 11th game, forcing an error from Gauff and giving herself a chance to serve in the first set.

A smart short pass from Gauff led to a Sabalenka error and the set went to a tie-break as expected.

The American led 6-1 at the break and finally won the 59-minute set on her fourth opportunity.

“I FEEL SO SPECIAL”

The second set was a different story as Gauff took control and broke twice to create a 4-1 lead.

In a marathon sixth game, Sabalenka needed eight break points to get one back, but her efforts were canceled out by Gauff, who scored four straight points on her opponent’s serve to take a 5-2 lead.

The Floridian was unable to take the win but kept the pressure on Sabalenka’s serve to reach the final after an hour and 49 minutes of pure fighting.

Olympic gold medalist Zheng, making her WTA finals debut, got off to a strong start against the Czech eight with an early break of serve to lead 3-0.

Krejcikova managed to come back three sets at 5-2, but Zheng won the next game to love and took the first set with ease.

The second set looked much the same, with Zheng again racing out to a 3-0 lead, this time with two breaks of serve, but Krejcikova finally got into her groove, winning the next four games with two breaks of her own.

The next three games were all serve games and the pair remained tied at 5-5 before Zheng managed to break again, leaving her to serve for the match. Krejcikova held firm, saving the first match point, but Zheng finally got the job done.