Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated.
Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set.
She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
Photo: AP
Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book her place in the final, which was to be played after press time last night.
Zheng continued her remarkable season by reaching the decider in her first appearance. The Chinese player has won 31 of her 36 matches since Wimbledon, more than anyone else on the tour.
Zheng struck nine aces as she defeated a tired-looking Krejcikova in 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In the women’s doubles at King Saud University, Taiwan’s hopes of a doubles crown were dashed as Chan and partner Veronika Kudermetova of Russia were ousted 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) by Taylor Townsend of the US and the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
The match looked lie it was going to be over quickly when Siniakova and Townsend raced through the first set without dropping a game and were 4-2 in the second, but things got more difficult for them from there.
They needed seven match points to complete the win as Chan and Kudermetova staged a comeback — similar to their successful effort against Italian duo Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the group stage to reach the semis.
Townsend and Siniakova were to play Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe after the Canadian-New Zealand duo beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 7-6 (9/7), 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
RSS