Coco Gauff is set to compete in the Auckland Classic final against Elina Svitolina as she defends her title. She secured her spot in the final after defeating fellow American Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-final. It took Gauff just 62 minutes to defeat Navarro, and she has now won 18 consecutive sets and nine consecutive matches in Auckland over the past two years. In her four matches this year, she has only lost 15 games.
Gauff’s win in Auckland last year was the start of a golden run which culminated when she won her first major title at the US Open. She seems in similar, compelling form this year, dominating matches with her serve and powerful ground shots, sending down 10 aces in 12 games in beating Navarro.
“2024 is off to a great beginning,” Gauff remarked. “Emma is a talented player. We first competed against each other when I was 12 and she was 15, so this marks our second match since then. It’s an exciting opportunity to play on this stage. I wish her the best for the remainder of the season.”
The 19-year-old Gauff displayed a poised and commanding display. Her strong ground shots enabled her to move forward to the net, where she took control and utilized her forceful forehand with precision. “I’m simply being assertive with my serve and return,” she stated. “We had a practice set here before the tournament started and she was playing exceptionally, so I understood that I needed to be at the top of my game to secure a victory.”
The number two seed, Svitolina, required two medical breaks during her match against Wang Xiyu from China, ultimately winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Svitolina lost her serve in the third game of the first set and then again in the fifth game, falling behind 4-1. She received treatment for a back injury and took a medical timeout. Upon her return, she managed to break Wang’s serve, but ultimately lost her own and the set 6-2.
Svitolina took the second set with a solitary break in the 10th game. She called for another medical timeout at the start of the third set but returned to hold serve and to break Wang for 3-1 and 5-1 leads. Wang broke back in the seventh game but Svitolina rallied and served out the set in the ninth game which included two aces.
At the Brisbane International, the second-ranked player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 to secure a highly-anticipated final against Elena Rybakina. This will be a rematch of their Australian Open championship match from last year.
Sabalenka achieved her first grand slam victory by winning the championship in Melbourne last year, but was defeated by Rybakina in the Indian Wells final and Beijing quarter-finals. However, she was able to claim a victory in their most recent match at the WTA Finals. On Sunday, the Belarusian has the opportunity to improve her record of 5 wins and 2 losses against Rybakina and potentially earn her first trophy of the season before defending her title at the upcoming Australian Open.
The top-seeded Sabalenka broke for a 3-1 lead with a desperate return from deep that drew an error from Azarenka at the net and overcame wobbles in her next two service games to claim the opening set. She saved two break points to clinch the ninth game of the second set and completed the win when the eighth-seeded Azarenka dropped serve in the following game.
Rybakina, ranked fourth in the world, previously beat Czech teen Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-2 to make it to her 15th singles final and fourth one in Australia.
Sabalenka expressed her enthusiasm for playing against Elena, as she has been on a successful 15-match streak in Australia and also won the title in Adelaide last year. She anticipates a high-quality match and is excited for the battle tomorrow.
Source: theguardian.com
