Coco Gauff has secured her spot in the Auckland Classic final after defeating her fellow American Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-final. She will face Elina Svitolina in the final as she defends her title. Gauff’s victory over Navarro took only 62 minutes, continuing her impressive streak of winning 18 straight sets and nine consecutive matches over the past two years in Auckland. So far this year, she has only lost 15 games in four matches.
Gauff’s win in Auckland last year was the start of a golden run which culminated when she won her first major title at the US Open. She seems in similar, compelling form this year, dominating matches with her serve and powerful ground shots, sending down 10 aces in 12 games in beating Navarro.
“It’s a good start to my 2024,” said Gauff. “Emma’s a great player. We’ve played each other when I was like 12 years old and she was 15 so it’s our second time playing since then. So it’s really cool to play on this stage. I wish her the best for the rest of the season.”
The 19-year-old Gauff displayed a controlled and commanding display. Her powerful groundstrokes enabled her to approach the net, where she excelled and utilized her strong forehand with precision. “I’m simply being assertive with my serving and returning,” she stated. “We had a practice set here before the tournament started and she was playing exceptionally well, so I knew I had to bring my A-game to come out victorious.”
Tthe second-seeded Svitolina needed two medical timeouts on her way to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Wang Xiyu of China. Svitolina dropped her serve in the third game of the first set and again, to love, in the fifth game to trail 4-1. She received courtside treatment for a lower back injury then left the court for a medical timeout. When she returned, she immediately broke Wang’s serve but lost her own and lost the set 6-2.
Svitolina won the second set by breaking Wang’s serve in the 10th game. She requested another medical timeout at the beginning of the third set but came back to successfully hold her serve and break Wang’s serve for leads of 3-1 and 5-1. Although Wang managed to break back in the seventh game, Svitolina persevered and closed out the set in the ninth game, aided by two aces.
At the Brisbane International, the second-ranked player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 to secure a thrilling final against Elena Rybakina. This will be a repeat of their match last year for the Australian Open title.
Sabalenka made her grand slam breakthrough by lifting the trophy in Melbourne last year but lost to Rybakina in the Indian Wells final and Beijing quarter-finals before winning the latest chapter of their rivalry at the WTA Finals. The Belarusian can improve her 5-2 win-loss record against Rybakina on Sunday and bag her first trophy this season before her title defence at the Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka, the first-ranked player, took the lead 3-1 with a powerful return from the back of the court that caused Victoria Azarenka to make a mistake at the net. Despite facing some difficulties in her next two service games, Sabalenka was able to win the first set. In the second set, she saved two break points and secured her victory when Azarenka, who was seeded eighth, lost her serve in the next game.
Rybakina, ranked fourth in the world, defeated Czech teenager Linda Noskova in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to advance to her 15th singles final and fourth in Australia.
Sabalenka expressed her excitement for playing against Elena, stating that she has a strong record against her opponent in Australia with a 15-match winning streak and a previous title win in Adelaide. She anticipates a competitive match and is eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle.
