Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis

AFP | London                                              

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: hussainm@newsobahrain.com

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will square off in the Wuhan Open semi-finals after claiming convincing victories yesterday.

The top-seeded Sabalenka produced a 6-2, 6-2 performance against Poland’s Magdalena Frech to record her 15th consecutive win in Wuhan, where she was a champion in 2018 and 2019.

Gauff, the number four seed, eased past Poland’s Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4 to extend her current winning streak to eight matches, having lifted the trophy at the China Open in Beijing last week.

One of those streaks will come to a halt when Sabalenka and Gauff meet for the eighth time. Gauff leads their head-tohead 4-3 but lost their most recent encounter at the Australian Open semi-finals in January.

“I think the main thing is, once again, to focus on myself, focus on my footwork, go to the net, finish the point over there,” said Sabalenka of her game plan against Gauff. “On this slow surface, you have to go there.

You have to be brave enough and finish the point there. I think that’s the main plan. It worked really well in our last meeting, so I’ll just stick to the plan. I’ll try to put as much pressure as possible on her.”