Coco Gauff rallies again to reach the China Open final

BEIJING – Coco Gauff rallied from a set down for the third straight match to beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the final of the China Open.

Sixth-ranked Gauff will face Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen or Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final, seeking her second WTA-1000 title. Gauff has a 7-1 record in the tour finals.

The 20-year-old American has made a habit of starting slowly in Beijing this week and the script played out again as the No. 19-ranked Badosa took a tight opening set in 59 minutes, saving 10 of 11 break points.

The Spaniard then built a 3-1 lead in the second set before the 2023 US Open champion shifted the momentum by saving four break points and then leveling at 4-4.

Gauff then held for 5-4 and broke Badosa again to force a deciding set.

“I felt like I played the right way the entire time, with just a few unforced errors. She played well too,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “I tried to stay focused. Mentally I just tried to reset. I fell a few times and tried to bounce back.”

With all the momentum, Gauff broke Badosa three more times – for the loss of one of her own – as she won the match in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Gauff had also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning via walkover when the four-time major winner retired with a back injury at one set-all.

“I’ve had tough opponents all tournament,” Gauff said.

In the quarterfinals, Gauff trailed No. 115 seed Yuliia Starodubtseva before rallying to win in three.