Coco Gauff beats Jessica Pegula in straight sets to win Wuhan Open
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Coco Gauff hits a return to Jessica Pegula during their singles final at the Wuhan Open.
PHOTO: AFP
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WUHAN – Coco Gauff overcame Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 on Oct 12 to clinch the third WTA 1000 title of her career in an all-American final at the Wuhan Open.
The third-seeded Gauff secured the trophy without dropping a set after a 1hr 42min battle in the central Chinese city.
In the first final between the former doubles partners, Gauff erased multiple deficits in the second set to improve her head-to-head record against Pegula to 3-4.
The 21-year-old in the process became the first player in the Open era to win her first nine hard-court finals.
“I’d like to thank my team; it was a great Asian swing,” Gauff said in her victor’s speech.
“I’m going to call JC (her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel) out here. He originally didn’t want me to come because I had a tough US Open. But I had to prove him wrong. I’m a very stubborn person.
“So maybe he said that on purpose for me to have a good result here.”
The pair had contrasting routes to the final with Gauff dropping a mere 16 games, while Pegula battled through three-setters in all eight of her previous matches.
Gauff won the first six points and it set the tone for what was to come, as she raced to a 3-0 advantage. Pegula, 31, recovered from her slow start and went on the attack, breaking with a fierce backhand winner that helped her get back on level terms at 4-4.
It looked like the sixth seed had swung the momentum her way, but Gauff found a tiny opening two games later and broke to secure the opening set in 47 minutes.
Gauff has been reworking her serve with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan since the end of August.
And while her numbers have improved since she added him to her team, the shot remains susceptible to ebbs and flows during stressful situations.
The world No. 3 double faulted eight times, allowing Pegula to break her twice for a 3-0 lead, then steadied the ship by getting both breaks back to draw level.
There was another exchange of breaks, Pegula inching ahead with a cunning drop shot and Gauff pegging her back thanks to winning 10 consecutive points.
Shortly after, Gauff raised her arms in celebration as a Pegula volley sailed wide on match point.
In men’s tennis, world No. 204 Valentin Vacherot beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win the Shanghai Masters. Qualifier Vacherot, the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 finalist in history, won 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The final between the 54th-ranked Frenchman Rinderknech and Vacherot, from Monaco, is one of the tournament’s unlikeliest endings to date.
It was just the third ATP Masters 1000 final in history to feature two unseeded players.
“It’s unreal what just happened. I have no idea what’s happening right now,” said Vacherot, 26.
“I’m not in a dream. It’s just crazy. I’m so happy about my performance these past two weeks. I want to thank everyone who put a brick in my career from the beginning.
“It’s really tough that there has to be one loser today. I think there’s just two winners today. One family that won.
“For the sport of tennis, the story is just unreal. I wish there could be two winners. Unfortunately there’s only one. For myself, I’m really happy that it’s me.”
Older cousin Rinderknech went ahead first, breaking with a backhand in the third game after three unforced errors from Vacherot. That was enough for the 30-year-old to claim the set in an otherwise well-matched duel.
The second set continued in much the same vein, with neither player able to make headway early on.
Rinderknech faced a break point in the eighth game and saved with an ace, but failed to convert a subsequent advantage to hold. He found himself on the brink again after an unforced error when he hit the ball into the net and Vacherot did not miss his chance this time to force a decider.
The third set went off with a bang, with Vacherot looking increasingly dangerous as Rinderknech, seemingly flagging in the humidity, scrambled to save multiple break points in both the third and fifth games.
The Frenchman received treatment on his back after the fifth game, having almost been broken four times.
The partial revival that followed made for some tense rallies that energised the crowd, but Vacherot broke again in the ninth game to seal the title, doubling over in disbelief. AFP, REUTERS
