Gauff defeats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open crown

BEIJING (Agencies): World number six Coco Gauff dominated unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova to win the China Open final 6-1 6-3 on Sunday and become the first player to win each of their first seven WTA hardcourt finals in the Open Era. Gauff fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to add the Beijing trophy to her win in the Auckland Classic this year and win the second WTA 1000 title of her career after her 2023 victory in Cincinnati, where she also beat Muchova in the final. Gauff, who improved her head-to-head record against Muchova to 3-0, has won eight of her nine WTA finals. “I want to say congratulations to you, Karolina, it’s great to see you back on tour,” Gauff said of her opponent Muchova, who spent an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a wrist injury at the 2023 U.S. Open. “I think you’re such an amazing player, and you deserve everything, and hopefully you play many more finals.”

The tournament was Gauff’s first after adding Matt Daly to her coaching team, following her split with Brad Gilbert last month. “I would like to thank my team. It’s our first tournament together as a full, complete team,” Gauff said. “Thank you Matt, this is our first tournament together, and obviously, it’s going well, so thank you for helping me throughout this week.” Heading into the final, Gauff had lost the first set in three straight matches and the former U.S. Open champion seemed determined to buck that trend, serving to love in the opening game and breaking early for a 2-0 lead.

The American continued to build on that momentum with two more holds to love, before breaking once again to go 5-1 ahead. After dropping no points in her first three service games, some doubt crept in as Gauff was forced to defend a break point, but she was able to clinch the set with an emphatic forehand winner. Gauff’s serve continued to falter early in the second set, leading to two double faults in her opening service game as Muchova broke for a 2-0 lead, but the American responded by turning up the aggression and approaching the net to break back immediately. Muchova, who beat Australian Open and U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in previous rounds, appeared deflated after losing her advantage and won just two points in the next three games as Gauff eased to a 4-2 lead. The pair traded holds before the fourth seed sealed the win by breaking serve when Muchova’s backhand sailed long on match point.  Earlier on Sunday, Paris Olympics gold medallists Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini defeated Chan Hao-Ching and Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-4 in the women’s doubles final to earn their third WTA Tour title of the year.