WUHAN: Coco Gauff overcame Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to clinch the third WTA 1000 title of her career in an all-American final at the Wuhan Open.&nbsp;The third-seeded Gauff secured the trophy without dropping a set after a 1hr 42min battle in the central Chinese city.&nbsp;In the first final between the former doubles partners, Gauff erased multiple deficits in the second set to improve her head-to-head record against Pegula to 3-4.&nbsp;The 21-year-old in the process became the first player in the Open Era to win her first nine hard-court finals.&nbsp;The pair had contrasting routes to the final with Gauff breezing dropping a mere 16 games while Pegula battled through three-setters in all eight of her previous matches.&nbsp;Gauff won the first six points of the match and it set the tone for what was to come, as she leapt to a 3-0 advantage.&nbsp;Pegula recovered from her slow start and went on the attack in game seven, breaking with a fierce backhand winner that helped her get back on level terms at 4-4.&nbsp;It looked like the sixth seed had swung the momentum her way but Gauff found a tiny opening two games later and broke to secure the opening set in 47 minutes.&nbsp;Pegula had come back from 2-5 down in her deciding set against world number one Aryna Sabalenka the day before and was more than ready for another fightback.&nbsp;Gauff has been reworking her serve with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan since the end of August.&nbsp;And while her numbers have improved since she added him to her team, the shot remains susceptible to ebbs and flows during stressful situations.&nbsp;The world number three double-faulted six times, allowing Pegula to break her twice for a 3-0 lead, then steadied the ship by getting both breaks back to draw level.&nbsp;There was another exchange of breaks, Pegula inching ahead with a cunning drop shot and Gauff pegging her back thanks to winning 10 consecutive points.&nbsp;Shortly after, Gauff raised her arms in celebration as a Pegula volley sailed wide on match point.

Tennis

Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 in the Wuhan Open final, claiming her third WTA 1000 title. Gauff rallied from multiple deficits, showcasing resilience and strong returns to win without dropping a set.

Gauff beats Pegula in straight sets to win Wuhan Open

WUHAN: US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka&#39;s winning streak at the Wuhan Open rolled on to 19 matches when she beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament. Top-ranked Sabalenka&#39;s streak includes winning titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019 and 2024. Earlier, Jessica Pegula recovered from an early service break in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and also advance to the final eight. Sixth-seeded Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, leveled the deciding set at 2-2, then won four of the last five games for victory. The win over No 9 Alexandrova came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the second round. Sixth straight three-set match&nbsp;It was Pegula&#39;s sixth straight three-set match, and for the fifth time, she won. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t remember the last time I played two sets,&rdquo; Pegula said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ve been competing really hard and I&rsquo;ve been playing a lot of really good players. It was different conditions today with the roof closed and I think it took us a little while to get adjusted.&rdquo; In night matches, No 2 Iga Swiatek was scheduled to play Belinda Bencic and No 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, was due to face Zhang Shuai.

The US Open champion advances to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1,000-level tournament. Jessica Pegula also reached the final eight after another three-set win.

Articles tagged with "Wuhan Open"

Gauff beats Pegula in straight sets to win Wuhan Open

Aryna Sabalenka's Wuhan winning streak reaches 19 matches

Gauff beats Pegula in straight sets to win Wuhan Open