Coco Gauff gives her honest verdict on ‘dangerous’ Karolina Muchova ahead of their China Open final

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America’s Coco Gauff survived a scare against Paula Badosa to reach her first WTA final since January.

Coco Gauff ended her final drought on Saturday after recovering to beat Paula Badosa at the China Open.

The 20-year-old won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach her first final since retaining her Auckland title in January.

Gauff split with Brad Gilbert ahead of the China Open after a dismal summer slide in results and has since added Matt Daly to her roster.

Into her second WTA 1000 final, Gauff is set to face Karolina Muchova, who she defeated in her first in Cincinnati prior to her 2023 US Open title.

The Czech, who only returned to the WTA Tour in June after nine months out, followed up her quarter-final win against Aryna Sabalenka with a straight-sets win over home favorite Zheng Qinwen.

Coco Gauff admits she’s expecting ‘dangerous’ Karolina Muchova

The pair reach the final as two players in utterly different situations. The energised, flowing Muchova is on a roll as she continues to flourish on her WTA return.

Gauff, on the other hand, has huffed and puffed under fresh management and has awkwardly muscled her way into her first final in nine months.

With the Russian having been forced to beat the US and Olympic champion on her way to the last two, world number 19 Badosa was Gauff’s highest ranked opponent.

Ahead of their third career meeting, Gauff told the WTA: “I think she’s one of the best players on tour, she just had some unlucky breaks with injuries.

“But it’s good to see her back healthy,” the American finalist said. “That’s going to be a tough matchup. She’s dangerous.”

Coco Gauff is absolutely right to be concerned

Gauff is of course absolutely spot on – Muchova’s already done most of the heavy-lifting in Beijing.

She has toppled the only player to win two Grand Slams this year, dumped out China’s best player in front of a 10,000 strong home crowd.

Muchova’s dynamic approach and ability to rattle and disrupt her opponents rhythm and balance has carried her well.

The extended hiatus after injury and the surgery that followed hasn’t created a rusty player, grappling with her identity.

While Gauff has been suffering the same errors of old, Muchova’s ability to carefully manoeuvre not only herself but also her opponents, should see her straight to the title.