In a demanding sport, every player loses every game – except one – and Coco Gauff is currently the lone exception.
The 19-year-old American has won 16 straight matches after defeating Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-4 in the China Open quarterfinals.
“It didn’t feel like 16,” she said later. “time flies.”
quarter final results
The 17th place was hard-earned. Gauff will take on the No. 2 and No. 3 players on Saturday against Iga Swiatek on the Hologic WTA Tour. This year, they lead all WTA players with seven top-10 finishes, with only one player finishing eighth.
The other semi-final pitted No. 5 player Elena Rybakina against rising star Lyudmila Samsonova. This means three of the top five players will head to the Diamond Court at the National Tennis Center in Beijing. Three of them are under 22 years old, Rybakina is only 24 years old.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 3 Coco Gauff
Swiatek’s case: She defeated No. 9 seed Caroline Garcia 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
That was when she was 25 years oldth She won the WTA 1000 event this year, one more than last year when she finished first. Swiatek has 61 wins this year, the most of any player (excluding the Billie Jean King Cup). She is the first player since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2012-2013 to have consecutive 60-plus win seasons.
China Open: Score | Schedule | Draw
Swiatek met in the Western and Southern Open semifinals in mid-August, and they beat Goff seven times in a row to open their series. Gauff won 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4.
“I also know the way she plays, what she’s improved on, what she’s changed,” Swiatek said. “I will just use the information and not overanalyze because I think we are both good players. Now we just need to fight on both sides.
“I’m sure it’s probably not going to be an easy game. “It’s going to be tight. “
Gough’s case: She hasn’t lost for 57 days, having lost to doubles partner Jessica Pegula in Montreal. She has won 20 of her past 21 tournaments, taking her into the WTA 500 (Washington, D.C.), WTA 1000 (Cincinnati) and Grand Slam (U.S. Open).
Cincinnati’s victory over Swiatek was particularly important in this game.
“Yes,” Goff said. “I’m a lot more confident going in. It’s going to be a tough game. I mean, she’s a tough player. I’m not going to try to put too much pressure on myself. I lost her a lot of times.” I’ll try to be second on the board. “
How are you playing? Gauff has 36 hard-court wins this year, not including the Billie Jean King Cup, the most of any WTA player. The last American teenager to win so many titles in one season was Venus Williams (42) in 1999. The last teenager to achieve such results in Beijing was Agnes Szavay in 2007.
A little more context: Goff is the first American teenager to win 16 straight games since Serena Williams in 1999.
No. 5 Elena Rybakina vs. Lyudmila Samsonova
Rybakina’s case: She had just defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 6-2.
In a deadly duel of strong opponents, Rybakina performed better. She hit 12 aces and had only one double fault. She is the first player since Belinda Bencic (2015-19) to win four consecutive games against the defending No. 1 team.
After Sabalenka’s serve reached 5 draws and 5 draws in the first set, Rybakina showed great composure and won the 20th set.th The key point of the match, converting her fifth break point. That was the turning point that propelled her into her fifth WTA 1000 semifinal of the season.
Victory on Saturday would send her to her fourth WTA 1000 final. Rybakina previously won titles in Indian Wells and Rome before losing to Petra Kvitova in Miami.
In the previous four games, Samsonova had been on the court for 7 hours and 38 minutes, more than any other player in the semifinals.
Samsonova’s case: Like Goff, 22-year-old Samsonova enters this game motivated by a strong recency bias.
Back in August, Samsonova reached the final of the WTA 1000 event in Montreal. She defeated Sabalenka in the round of 16 and then Rybakina in the semifinals. Previously, Samsonova defeated Rybakina in Montreal two years ago and Tokyo last year.
Samsonova defeated No. 13 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes. The win moved her back into the top 20, within striking distance of her career-high No. 12 in February.
Samsonova said in an interview that tactically, Rybakina and Sabalenka face similar challenges.
“I needed to be really, really strong against Lena,” she said. “I’m fine and ready to go.”
Samsonova defeated Rybakina in all three matches.