FORMER US Open champion Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to beat Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the China Open in Beijing on Saturday and set up a final with Czech Karolina Muchova.
Double faults and a weaker second serve troubled world No. 6 Gauff early in the match as Badosa won 75% of her second return points in the set.
Badosa broke to go 3-2 up, but Gauff fought back, making it 4-4 after a marathon game where Badosa saved 10 break points, but a persistent Gauff ultimately prevailed.
The world No. 19 19 re-took the lead with a quick break in the very next game and held her own serve to win the set.
Badosa broke again in the first game of the second set and almost built a 4-1 lead, but Gauff saved four break points to hold.
A confident Gauff would not lose another game in the set as she seized the momentum, landing more precise shots across the court, with Badosa not winning a single point as Gauff broke her in the last game.
In the third set, the 20-year-old broke twice to build a 4-1 lead, hitting two aces as her powerful forehands eluded an increasingly exhausted Badosa.
Gauff sealed victory with another break.
“It was just a tough match… I just tried to stay focused. Mentally I tried to reset. I got down a couple of times, but I tried to bounce back,” Gauff said in her post-match interview.
“I had tough opponents the whole tournament. Happy to be in the final.”
