Coco Gauff makes history after cruising to China Open title

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — US tennis star Coco Gauff stormed to victory in the China Open final on Sunday, sweeping past Karolina Muchová 6-1 6-3.

The straight-sets victory makes the 20-year-old the first American to win the tournament since Serena Williams back in 2013 – she now has eight WTA titles to her name.

Gauff also made WTA history in the process, becoming the first woman to win her first seven hard-court finals in the Open era.

“I want to say congratulations to you Karolina. It’s great to see you back on tour. I think you’re such an amazing player and you deserve everything,” Gauff said in her post-match interview, before thanking her own team for supporting her through the season.

It was an impressive performance from Gauff who wasted no time in stamping her authority on the final as she wrapped up the first-set in 30 minutes, a remarkable feat given Muchová’s recent run.

The Czech star, who has battled injuries this season, would have been confident of her chances on Sunday given recent victories against US Open winner Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

But, in truth, she couldn’t match Gauff’s physicality as the American dominated throughout, making only eight unforced errors to Muchová’s 24.

Gauff’s previous issues with serving momentarily surfaced at the start of the second set which allowed Muchova to take a 2-0 lead, but Gauff broke back instantly to reassert her control on the match.

The title was Gauff’s first for nine months and first after adding Matt Daly to her coaching team, following her decision to move away from long-time coach Brad Gilbert last month.

Gilbert was part of a coaching team that helped Gauff ramp up her form in 2023 to claim her first grand slam with victory at last year’s US Open, as well as titles in Cincinnati and Washington.

Gauff will play the Wuhan Open next, as she continues to rise up the rankings once again.

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