• November 22, 2024

China Open: Coco Gauff through to final after beating Paulo Badosa in Beijing | Tennis News


Coco Gauff is through to the final of the China Open after coming from a set down to beat Paulo Badosa in Beijing on Saturday.

Gauff, the former US Open Champion, was troubled by double faults early in the match but recovered to defeat the Spaniard 4-6 6-4 6-2.

She will play either Zheng Qinwen or Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final, with the second semi-final taking place later on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

“It was a tough match, I just tried to stay focused,” said Gauff. “Mentally I tried to reset. I got down a couple of times but I tried to bounce back.”

Gauff hugs Badosa after their semi-final match
Image:
Gauff hugs Badosa after their semi-final match

Badosa broke Gauff twice in the second set and looked poised to progress herself when doing so again at the start of the second set. She almost then built a 4-1 lead before the fourth seed saved four break points to hold.

A confident Gauff would not lose another game in the set as she seized the momentum before a decider.

In the third set, the 20-year-old broke twice to build a 4-1 lead and wouldn’t be stopped from there.

“I’ve had tough opponents the whole tournament,” she added. “Happy to be in the final.”

Gauff dominated with her forehand in the final set
Image:
Gauff dominated with her forehand in the final set

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?

  • Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13)
  • Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in qualifying action)
  • Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
  • Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
  • European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
  • Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
  • Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
  • Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
  • Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
  • Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
  • Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.