Coco Gauff beats Elina Svitolina to retain Auckland Classic tennis crown

AUCKLAND – Coco Gauff battled past Elina Svitolina 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3 in the Auckland Classic final on Jan 7 to retain her title, and will head to the Australian Open brimming with confidence as she targets a second Grand Slam crown.

Gauff, who burst onto the scene at Wimbledon in 2019, enjoyed a stellar 2023 as the 19-year-old American won her first Major trophy at the US Open in September to reach a career-high world ranking of No. 3.

The Auckland top seed continued to build momentum in the new season by winning the tune-up for the Jan 14-28 Australian Open, losing only one set after a thorough test in the final by twice Melbourne Park quarter-finalist Svitolina.

“This is my first time ever having to defend a title, so I’m really happy I was able to do it today,” said Gauff, who claimed her seventh career WTA singles trophy.

“This year’s tournament was a lot different,” she added, thanking the boisterous crowd.

“Last year it rained almost every single match and we were playing indoors with just a few people watching, so it’s really cool to play in front of a packed crowd almost every match.”

Gauff was drawn into a thunderous baseline battle against the world No. 25, who showed no sign of the back and ankle injuries that affected her in the three-set semi-final win over China’s Wang Xiyu.

Both players dropped serve twice in the opening set, before Gauff squandered two set points at 5-3 and allowed Svitolina to claw her way back and take the the tiebreak.

But Gauff responded strongly to breeze through the next set and held her nerves after grabbing the crucial break in the eighth game of the decider to close out the victory in 2hr 35min.

“It’s been a really great experience to play for the first time here,” said Ukraine’s Svitolina, who returned to the WTA Tour last April following the birth of her daughter with fellow tennis player Gael Monfils.

“I want to congratulate Coco and her team for a great start to the year. Good luck at the Australian Open.

“I’ve been enjoying myself here playing great matches. Tough loss today, of course,” added Svitolina, who steadily found her best level with stunning runs to the French Open quarter-finals and the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2023.
REUTERS, AFP