In the China Open final, Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova in straight sets to win her first WTA Tour title since January.
After unexpectedly losing in the fourth round of the US Open at the beginning of September, Gauff took a three-week break from tennis. However, throughout the past week, she has played some of her finest tennis in Beijing.
She dominated Muchova throughout the most of the final, winning 6-1 6-3 to record her greatest victory since that historic first Grand Slam title in New York more than a year ago.
“With the excellent facilities, it’s practically a Grand Slam. After splitting from Brad Gilbert after this year’s US Open, Gauff has made the ideal start to her life with new trainers Jean-Christophe Faurel and Matt Daly. “This is as good as it gets,” she stated.
I want to express my gratitude to the fans. Thank you to everyone who has supported women’s tennis; nearly every match has been packed.
As her parents watched, Gauff established a 2-0 and 3-1 lead early on by hitting the ball harder and more correctly than her opponent.
The American won three straight games and kept up her strong serve, finishing the opening set in 30 minutes with 94% of the points on her first serve.
Muchova lost the next four games and fell down 4-3 after unexpectedly breaking Gauff early in the second set to take a 2-0 lead.
Having only lost one final since going professional at the age of 14 in 2018, she won her eighth career WTA Tour title thanks to another easy hold and a break of service from Gauff.
Gauff will focus on the Wuhan Open, where she will compete in the middle of the week. The WTA 1000 competition will also feature top seed Aryna Sabalenka and Katie Boulter of Britain.