Coco Gauff had some warm words for fellow Wuhan Open finalist Jessica Pegula, who Gauff beat 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday to claim the title in the Chinese city. “When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. That really went a long way, so I appreciate you,” Gauff told Pegula at the trophy ceremony after their hard-fought battle on the court. “It’s great to finally play in the final against you. I hope for many more.”
Pegula, whose record fell to 9-11 in finals on the tour, too had some kind words for her compatriot.
“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,” Pegula said.
The maturity from Gauff was on full display at Wuhan as the 21-year-old reeled off four straight games to beat Pegula. Gauff thus claims her second title of the year, having won the French Open on clay, and she now has 11 career titles.
The third-ranked tennis ace served to save the second set at 5-3 down. She held and then broke the sixth-ranked Pegula to love for 5-5.
Pegula’s forehand volley at the net landed wide to give Gauff a first match point and, with Pegula on second serve, she clinched it with a forehand winner following a brief rally.
“Winning every match (in the tournament) in straight sets, I don’t know if I’ve done that before on a title run,” the younger player said. “I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today.”
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The 31-year-old Pegula rallied to beat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. But this time she lost momentum and missed out on a 10th career title as Gauff became the second American to claim the Wuhan title after Venus Williams in 2015.
It was their seventh career meeting and first in a final. Pegula leads 4-3 overall against Gauff, with whom she has won several WTA doubles titles.
(With inputs from AP)
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