Karolina Muchova was outgunned by a Coco Gauff masterclass in the Beijing final.
A mesmerizing from the plucky Czech saw her end Aryna Sabalenka’s 15-match unbeaten streak and defeat the Olympic Champion Zheng Qinwen.
A third instalment in the Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova rivalry ultimately went the way of the American for a hat-trick.
Just over 12 months on from Gauff’s maiden WTA-1000 title win in Cincinnati against Muchova, she denied the 28-year-old again in a brutal straight sets drubbing.
Gauff’s new partnership with coach Matt Daly has paid immediate dividends, with the American quickly recovering from a summer slide in results to win six on the trot.
Karolina Muchova admits defeat over impressive Coco Gauff
While Gauff’s only Beijing opponent inside the top 20 was Paula Badosa in the semi-final, Muchova faced a far more gruelling run to the final.
The Czech was upfront about her performance after the match, admitting Gauff forced her into making mistakes.
“I think I was playing the other matches pretty solid. I served better. I wasn’t doing that many mistakes. Of course, she pushed me and made me do those errors,” Muchova said in her post-match press conference.
“But yeah, I didn’t help myself with the serve. That’s my game usually. I keep serve. I wasn’t able to do that today. Yeah, I think was my weakest performance. In that way I meant that I help her a little bit. But obviously she made it tough and she played really great.
“I mean, I lost to her three times in a row,” Muchova added. “I’ll say very similar losses. I lost them all the same way. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt. It’s very physical with her. I felt like the second one always in the rallies.
“I guess her game… I don’t know. It’s tough to say. I felt like I didn’t play my best, so it’s tough to say. It makes me probably uncomfortable when I lost to her three times in a row.”
Karolina Muchova is still destined for a WTA top 10 return
After injury at last year’s US Open, Muchova made the call to have surgery on her wrist, ultimately delaying her return.
However, having made her WTA comeback in June on the green grass in Eastbourne, Muchova has wasted no time in making her mark.
A run to the US Open semi-finals before going one better in Beijing has helped the Czech rise back into the top 30 within just a few months of her return.
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