Sabalenka ends Gauff's winning streak to meet Zheng in Wuhan Open final

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Aryna Sabalenka serves during the women's singles semifinal match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Coco Gauff of the United States at the 2024 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, Oct. 12, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka beat No. 4 Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinal, advancing to her third straight Wuhan final, while China's Zheng Qinwen defeated Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4 in the first all-Chinese semifinal at a WTA 1000.

Starting with a 5-0 lead, Gauff cruised to a 6-1 victory in the first set, taking only 28 minutes. But her serves started to break down in the second, giving Sabalenka the opportunity to take the second set and level the score.

Following her victory in the last four games of the second set, Sabalenka extended her momentum to seven consecutive games, taking a commanding 3-0 lead. However, Gauff made a strong comeback from being down 4-1, leveling the score at 4-4. Sabalenka responded with a decisive hold to halt Gauff's three-game run. Sabalenka broke the American one last time taking advantage of Gauff's final double fault of the match, bringing the 2-hour and 26-minute contest to a close.

"In the second set, she dropped her speed a little bit," Sabalenka said. "I was able to step in and put so much pressure on her. I was able to go in the net, finish points there, put even more pressure on her."

"I think it was just a matter of who's going to take these first shots, like who is going to control the point. I think that's what changed in the second set. That's what changed in the third set, as well," she added.

Since her debut at the 2018 Wuhan Open, Sabalenka has achieved a flawless record of 16-0 in this tournament, securing two championship titles.

In the other semifinal, China's Zheng Qinwen defeated her compatriot Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4 in the first all-Chinese semifinal at a WTA 1000, securing her first-ever entry into the WTA 1000 final.

Zheng has suffered defeats in all three of her previous encounters against Sabalenka. Despite the disadvantage in their head-to-head record, Zheng still believes that the final will be a closely contested match.

"If I can perform my best tomorrow, it will be a 50-50 chance between me and her. However, it ultimately depends on my own mental adjustment. What I need to do is to get my mindset right and see if I can deliver a better performance," said Zheng.