Coco Gauff reaches the final of the China Open

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

Sixth-seeded Gauff will play Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic in the final on Sunday.

Muchova defeated Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 in the other semi-final.

Gauff, who has a 7-1 record in tour finals, has made a habit of starting slowly in Beijing this week and the script played out again as 19th-ranked Badosa took a tight opening set and won 10 of 11 break points saved. .

The Spaniard then built up a 3-1 lead in the second set 2023 US Open champion Gauff changed the momentum by saving four break points and then breaking back to level at 4-4.

Gauff 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 on court. “I tried to stay focused. Mentally I was just trying 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 also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning via walkover and against No. 115 ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva in the quarterfinals.

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

Shanghai Masters

Carlos Alcaraz and ranked at the top Jannik Sinner showed no signs of fatigue in their China Open final this week as they advanced in Shanghai with comfortable wins in their opening matches.

The second-placed Alcaraz, who defeated the Italian in Beijing on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, he recorded his 10th consecutive victory against 19-year-old Shang Juncheng of China 6-2, 6-2.

The Spaniard won the first nine points of the match and four of the seven break points as he romped to a third-round meeting with another Chinese player, Wu Yibing.

“I’m not used to playing against players younger than me,” Alcaraz said. “He’s been playing good tennis lately and won his first ATP (Chengdu title), so I’m pretty sure he’ll rise up the rankings. I’m just happy that I can win these kinds of matches.”

Sinner, dealing with one doping casehad a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 performance against Taro Daniel of Japan for his 250th career win.

Sinner, who won the US Open last month for his second major of the year, fired 12 aces and 38 winners.

“I felt pretty comfortable today,” said Sinner, who next plays Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry. “I feel in good shape, which is very important for me. I served very, very well, especially in important moments, and moved well.”

Third-ranked Alexander Zverev started with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, while finishing in fourth place Novak Djokovic had a tougher task and won 7-6 (3), 7-6 (9) against Alex Michelsen of the United States.

65th-ranked Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic broke sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev seven times en route to a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Yosuke Watanuki also surprised by beating No. 35 Brendan Nakashima 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Japanese qualifier will next play seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz of the US or qualifier Terence Atmane of France.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis