World No. 6 Coco Gauff claimed her first China Open title with a 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 49 Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s championship. Gauff’s win marks her first WTA tournament title since January and the eighth of her career. She is the fourth player to win the China Open before turning 21 years old.
Gauff’s China Open run was marked by continuous slow starts, but not on Sunday. The 20-year-old American put her stamp on the match early. She opened the first game with an ace, a welcome sight after she opened her previous two matches with a double fault. This time Gauff’s serve looked superb, as she did not drop a single serve point within her first three service games. Meanwhile, Muchova did herself no favors. The 28-year-old Czech player made one unforced error after another, including in the third game when she sailed each ball outside the boundary. Gauff earned two service breaks in the set and cruised to an easy 6-1 win.
“Today I felt on from the first game,” Gauff said in her press conference afterward. “Sometimes you just wake up like, ‘Today is my day.’”
The second set began much better for Muchova. She held serve in the first game and was able to earn a service break the following game, which included a wild rally to reach deuce. Muchova looked much more comfortable, limiting her unforced errors and pounding her shots with confidence. Unfortunately for her, this short-lived momentum soon faded. Gauff looked determined to finish the match and took four straight games, including eight straight points won in the fourth and fifth games. Muchova held serve in the seventh game after battling to deuce three times but could not keep up with Gauff. The American took the final two games, and ultimately the set, without much pushback. The lopsided match lasted a mere hour and 16 minutes.
“I was super relaxed going in,” Gauff said. “The experience of winning a 1000-level tournament in the past [helped], and honestly I was just telling myself the entire match that I’m proud of myself for the things that I have overcome.”
Gauff has endured a slew of adversity this year. She recently separated from coach Brad Gilbert after several disappointing tournament appearances, including a U.S. Open semifinal loss where she recorded 19 double faults. Gauff hired coach Matt Daly, who joined the team just a week before she headed to the China Open. It is clear from tonight’s play that this change is having an immediate impact.
Gauff moved up two places to No. 4 in the WTA Rankings with her win, virtually ensuring her a spot in her third consecutive WTA Finals. Her win also makes her the first American to win the China Open tournament since Serena Williams in 2013.
“It means a lot, any time my name is mentioned in whatever sentence [Serena’s] is,” Gauff said. “It is a huge honor.”
—Reporting by Egan Ward