NIGERIAN MILITARY JET CRASHES IN NIGER. (PHOTO).
Coco Gauff rallied to win four consecutive games, defeating Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to claim the Wuhan Open title on Sunday in an all-American final.
The 21-year-old Gauff captured her second title of the year, adding to her French Open victory on clay, bringing her career total to 11 titles. Facing a 5-3 deficit in the second set, the third-ranked Gauff held serve and then broke sixth-ranked Pegula at love to even the score at 5-5. Pegula’s forehand volley went wide on Gauff’s first match point, and Gauff closed out the victory with a forehand winner on Pegula’s second serve.
“Winning every match in straight sets, I don’t know if I’ve done that before on a title run,” Gauff said. “I felt really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of today’s result.”
Pegula, 31, had advanced to the final by defeating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals but was unable to maintain momentum against Gauff, missing out on her 10th career title. Gauff became the second American to win the Wuhan Open after Venus Williams in 2015.
This marked the first time the two met in a final and their seventh overall meeting, with Pegula leading 4-3 in head-to-head matches and having won several WTA doubles titles with Gauff. At the trophy ceremony, Gauff praised Pegula for her early support on tour, saying, “It’s great to finally play in the final against you. I hope for many more.”
Gauff improved her career finals record to 11-3, while Pegula fell to 9-11. Pegula added, “We’ve spent a lot of time together and, even though I’m a bit older, I always admire and respect her so much. She’s just so mature for her age.”
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