Coco Gauff secured her place in the final of the Wuhan Open against Jasmine Paolini, but she found one particular aspect tough to deal with.
Gauff has been outstanding in Wuhan, defeating Laura Siegemund, Zhang Shuai, and Moyuka Uchijima and dropping just nine games.
The American’s match with Paolini was more competitive, but Gauff found a way to come through in a straight sets.
Despite confirming back-to-back finals in China, Gauff has revealed the one thing she found ‘tough’ against Paolini.
Coco Gauff struggled on serve against Jasmine Paolini
Gauff and Paolini swapped serves several times in the semi-final, with both women breaking serve 11 consecutive times.
The star opened up about her match with Paolini, with a particular emphasis on her struggles with her serve.
“It was 3-0 to her this year, I think we’re even now [on overall head to head],” she said to Sky Sports. “I’m really happy with how I play today. It was tough, especially on the serve, but I did what I need to do to get through.
“I’ve played a couple finals this year, so I have a lot of experience, but regardless of what happens tomorrow I’m really happy with the effort I put in for this tournament.
Gauff will play the winner of Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula in the Wuhan Open final.
Coco Gauff looks ahead to the Wuhan Open final
The American was typically diplomatic when discussing who she would prefer to face in her latest final appearance.
“Yeah, obviously they’re both great players,” said the World No. 3, who could be playing both players at the WTA Finals in November.
“They’ve both played a high level of tennis this year and I’ve lost to them both before but also won, so it could go either way, but overall I’m just gonna focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control.”
Gauff leads her head-to-head with Sabalenka, winning six of her 11 matches against the World No. 1, but the same cannot be said for her compatriot.
Gauff has lost four times against Pegula and she’s only managed to beat the American on two occasions.
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