World number 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat defending champion Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in the third round robin match of the Stefanie Graf Group at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Sabalenka set up a semifinal clash against Amanda Anisimova.
Sabalenka won the first two matches and needed to win at least one set to seal the number 1 spot in her group. Gauff had to win the match to reach the semifinal.
Gauff earned an early break in the first game and held serve to open up a 2-0 lead. Sabalenka broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Gauff earned a second break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Gauff led 5-4 30-0 in the 10th game and appeared to be heading toward winning the first set, but Sabalenka won the next four points to break back for 5-5.
Gauff earned an early mini-break to take a 3-1 lead in the tie-break. Sabalenka pulled back on serve for 3-4 and won four of the next five points to seal the tie-break 7-5 on her second set point.
Sabalenka earned two back-to-back breaks to race out to a 4-0 lead. Gauff pulled one break back in the sixth game, but Sabalenka earned her third break before serving out on her first match point 6-2 in the eighth game.
“I was already working for the second set, to be honest, Something clicked and I was able to break and that game gave me a lot of confidence that I still got it in this set. And yeah, super happy to get this win”, said Sabalenka.
Sabalenka and Gauff met for the first time since the Roland Garros final where the US player lost a first set tie-break, but she came back to win the match in three sets.
