Coco Gauff triumphs over Karolina Muchova to claim China Open title
The 20-year-old Coco Gauff became the first American player to claim the China Open title since 2013, when Serena Williams took the trophy home. Coco Gauff dominated Karolina Muchova in straight sets to clinch the China Open title on Sunday. The win marked her second title of the year and the eighth of her career. The young tennis prodigy secured a convincing 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 76 minutes in Beijing. The victory at the WTA 1000 tournament also propelled Gauff in the WTA rankings to World No. 4.
Coco Gauff moves up in WTA Rankings as he triumphs over Karolina Muchova to win China Open title
The ongoing season had not treated the American player well prior to the tournament in Beijing. Gauff, the defending champion from her title win in 2023, marked a fourth round exit from the US Open this season. After failing to defend her title with a loss to Emma Navaro, Gauff parted ways with her coach Brad Gilbert, putting an end to a partnership that spanned over a year. Subsequently, Gauff landed in Beijing with Matt Daly added to her coaching team. Gauff came to the China Open final after beating Spain’s Paula Badosa in a hard-fought semi-final battle. However, against Karolina Muchova, Gauff boasted a 2-0 record ahead of the title clash.
The 20-year-old came out strong in the first set of the final clash, immediately breaking Muchova's serve for a 2-0 lead and then easily holding her own serve without losing a point. Within the first 10 minutes, Gauff had taken control, leading 3-0. Karolina Muchova earned her place in the final after beating World no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng. In the final battle as Gauff extended her lead swiftly, Muchova, looking to gain a foothold, responded with an ace to get on the scoreboard. However, Gauff's serve was proving effective as the American didn’t provide any room for Muchova to score. In the sixth game, Gauff had three break points and seized the opportunity on her first, racing to a 5-1 lead as Muchova struggled to keep up.
The American then hit her third ace of the match, setting up two set points. While her serve faltered briefly, she closed out the first set on her third set point in just 29 minutes. Muchova came to Beijing after a 10-month break from the sport due to a wrist injury. Despite this, she overpowered the Olympic gold medalist, Zheng in the penultimate round. Against Coco, who now has a 3-0 record against her, Muchova struggled early but began to find her rhythm at the start of the second set, breaking Gauff's serve to lead 2-0. However, Gauff quickly responded by breaking back and regained control, cruising to a comfortable victory.
