World number six Coco Gauff dominated unseeded Czech player Karolina Muchova to win the China Open – the eighth WTA title of her career and first since January.
The American fourth seed had struggled with her serve earlier in the week and was forced to battle back from a set down in her three previous matches en route to her first final since winning in Auckland at the start of the year.
But the 2023 US Open champion showed little sign of that fragility as she claimed a 6-1 6-3 win in one hour and 17 minutes.
Gauff jokingly put her improved form down to a visit to Beijing’s Forbidden City with men’s winner Carlos Alcaraz.
“I guess the Imperial Palace brought us luck, so maybe I will pay a visit next year to get the same luck,” she told an appreciative Chinese audience.
There was nothing lucky about the way the 20-year-old star rattled through the opening set in just 30 minutes, harrying her opponent into a series of unforced errors to claim two breaks of serve.
World number 49 Muchova, who was ranked as high as eighth before a lengthy lay-off with a wrist injury picked up at the 2023 US Open, had beaten top seed Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in previous rounds but was unable to match Gauff’s power and athleticism.
The 28-year-old had lost her two previous matches against the young American, including the final of last year’s Cincinnati Open, and suffered defeats in four of her previous five WTA finals.
However, Muchova started the second set more positively, opening a 2-0 lead after Gauff’s problems with her serve briefly resurfaced as she sent down two double faults to hand her opponent the early break.
But Gauff broke back immediately to start a run of four consecutive games.
Muchova eventually gifted her opponent victory by firing a backhand long with her 24th unforced error which, when compared to Gauff’s 24 winners, told the story of the match.
“I want to say congratulations to you, Karolina, it’s great to see you back on tour,” said Gauff in her post-match interview.
“I think you’re such an amazing player – you deserve everything and hopefully you play many more finals.”
Gauff also thanked her new coach Matt Daly, adding that “obviously things are going well”, after winning her first tournament under his guidance.
She ended her partnership with Brad Gilbert last month following her fourth-round exit at the US Open, where she failed to defend her crown.
Victory in the WTA 1,000 event in Beijing moved Gauff up to fourth place in the Race to the Finals, with the top seven qualifying for the season-ending tournament in Riyadh in November.
She now moves on to the Wuhan Open, which starts on Monday.
Source: BBC