(Cancún) U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff defeated Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the Finals of the WTA, Friday.
Gauff overcame 17 double faults and was just one game away from being eliminated from the group stage. Thanks to her victory against Vondrousova, the American finally qualified for Saturday’s semi-finals.
Gauff will face her good friend and doubles partner Jessica Pegula in the semi-final.
Gauff, 19, led in the first set, but lost four games in a row and 16 of 21 points, only to see Vondrousova take a 7-5, 1-0 lead.
However, the 25-minute rain delay early in the second set was perhaps what Gauff needed to get his act together.
PHOTO FERNANDO LLANO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marketa Vondrousova
Vondrousova served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but Gauff broke her opponent, before pushing the match to the limit.
Gauff won five of the final six games of the match, finishing the group stage with a 2-1 record. For her part, Vondrousova has not won any of her three matches.
Four-time major champion Iga Swiatek defeated Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2 in the final match of the evening. Swiatek had already earned her group’s first berth for Saturday and finished with a 3-0 record.
PHOTO CLAUDIO CRUZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Aryna Sabalenka
During the day, world number one Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the semi-finals for the second year in a row, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 against Elena Rybakina 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
The game was interrupted several times due to rain on Thursday evening, before being officially suspended at the end of the second inning and postponed until the next day.
PHOTO CLAUDIO CRUZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Elena Rybakina
At that point, Rybakina served at 5-3 to force a final set. This she managed to do when the action resumed the next day.
Sabalenka, however, had the best in the third round, not without difficulty. In the last game, she saved five break points, before winning on her fourth match point.
It was a replay of the Australian Open final in January, where Sabalenka also won.
With her 2-1 record in the group stage, Sabalenka finished second in her group. Pegula, who won all three of her matches, finished in first place.
The other semi-final will pit the top two rackets in the world against each other, Sabalenka and Swiatek. A triumph in the final would allow Swiatek to return to the top of the WTA rankings.
Rybakina was eliminated following the loss to Sabalenka.