Aryna Sabalenka recovers from set and 4-2 down to beat Coco Gauff in Wuhan Open semi-finals; world No 2 has won 16 matches in a row in this tournament after title victories in 2018 and 2019; Gauff’s serving woes let Sabalenka back into match after dominant first set
Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a set and 4-2 down as she pounced on Coco Gauff’s serving woes to reach the Wuhan Open final and extend her winning streak at the tournament to 16 matches.
World No 2 and recent US Open champion Sabalenka triumphed in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019 before the event was cancelled for the next four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Belarusian’s hopes of a third straight title looked all but over as a ruthless Gauff sped through the first set 6-1 – she was 5-0 up in 19 minutes – and then moved two games from victory after a hold of serve ended five consecutive breaks at the start of the second set.
But Gauff was broken twice from 4-2 up as her serve continued to disintegrate – the American sending down nine double faults in total in the second set, including three in a game on two occasions.
Sabalenka claimed the second set 6-4 and then took the decider – in which Gauff also registered nine double faults – by the same score to level her career head-to-head with her opponent at 4-4 and set up a Sunday final against either Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen or Wang Xinyu.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka was completely dominated in the first set and looked to the skies in relief when she won the sixth game to avoid being bageled.
The second set was a strange affair with breaks galore before Gauff edged two games ahead to seemingly close in on the final, only for her serving troubles to let Sabalenka back in.
Sabalenka won seven games in row, wrapping up the second set and moving a break ahead in the third, and although Gauff subsequently battled back to 4-4, she was broken again in the 10th game as Sabalenka converted her second match point.
Sabalenka had beaten Gauff in the pair’s previous meeting, in the semi-finals of the Australian Open back in January as she went on to win that tournament for the second year in a row.
Sinner into Shanghai final; confirmed as year-end No 1
Meanwhile, in the first men’s semi-final in Shanghai, world No 1 Jannik Sinner saw off Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 and will now face either Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final.
Machac had stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals but was unable to pull off another upset, despite breaking Sinner in the opening game of the match.
Sinner’s win guaranteed that he will end the year at the top of the rankings, becoming the first Italian to achieve that feat.
He said afterwards: “It is something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the No 1. Now having the year-end, it is also a different and special feeling.
“It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around – the family and friends and also a big credit to my team.”
