However, she had the match well in hand. Victorious in Beijing last week and in great form, Cori Gauff believed that she was going to take the scalp of Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final of the WTA 1000 in Wuhan on Saturday. But the American, who led by a set and a break (6-1, 4-2), finally lost in three sets (1-6, 6-4, 6-4) and 2h26 of Thu. Gauff, 20 years old, may have very big regrets with his 21 double faults. Sabalenka, 26, returns to 4-4 in their confrontations on the circuit.
Very aggressive, her younger sister got off to a great start as she led 5-0 in 19 minutes. Sabalenka, harassed on her backhand, gave up her serve a third time in the first set, won by her opponent 6-1. The American took control of her serve again at the start of the second set, pushing Sabalenka to attempt winning shots in each rally to get by.
Two games with 3 double faults, one with… 4
The turners then clearly took precedence over the waitresses and Gauff then showed incredible excitement in serving. At 6-1, 2-1 for her, she committed three double faults in the same game to allow her rival to recover. Same scenario at 6-1, 4-3 even though she had regained a break in advance. Gauff had the opportunity to make up the difference on the restart in the next game, but it was she who broke again at 5-4 against her, which allowed Sabalenka to win the second set.
On her dynamic, the Belarusian managed the break at the start of the decisive set. Trailing 3-0, Gauff was guilty this time of four double faults in one game, ultimately narrowly snatched away, thus stopping the bleeding of seven games lost in a row. And she even managed to catch up (1-6, 6-4, 4-4). But faced with the pressure to serve to stay in the match, she gave in again, like a symbol, on her 21st double fault.
While she aims to dethrone in the ranking the world No.1, the Polish Iga Swiatek, absent in Beijing then in Wuhan, this success is precious for the native of Minsk, who won the last edition of this WTA 1000, organized in 2019 before the pandemic. In the final, her fourth in a WTA 1000 this season, she will face a Chinese player: Qinwen Zheng (7th in the world) or Wang Xinyu (51st).
