WUHAN, China (AP) — Coco Gauff reeled off four straight games to beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 and win the Wuhan Open on Sunday in all-American final.
The 21-year-old Gauff won her second title of the year, having won the French Open on clay, and she now has 11 career titles.
The third-ranked Gauff served to save the second set at 5-3 down. She held and then broke the sixth-ranked Pegula to love for 5-5.
Pegula’s forehand volley at the net landed wide to give Gauff a first match point and, with Pegula on second serve, she clinched it with a forehand winner following a brief rally.
“Winning every match (in the tournament) in straight sets, I don’t know if I’ve done that before on a title run,” Gauff said. “I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today.”
The 31-year-old Pegula rallied to beat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. But this time she lost momentum and missed out on a 10th career title as Gauff became the second American to claim the Wuhan title after Venus Williams in 2015.
It was their seventh career meeting and first in a final. Pegula leads 4-3 overall against Gauff, with whom she has won several WTA doubles titles.
“When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. That really went a long way, so I appreciate you,” Gauff told Pegula at the trophy ceremony. “It’s great to finally play in the final against you. I hope for many more.”
Gauff improved to 11-3 in finals; Pegula dropped to 9-11.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together and, even though I’m a bit older, I always admire and respect her so much,” Pegula said. ”She’s just so mature for her age.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
