Read More: Coco Gauff solves Aryna Sabalenka for first final at WTA Finals
Against Sabalenka, Gauff showed again why this matchup works so well for her. Sabalenka’s pace and aggression allows Gauff to settle back and do what she likes to do best—run and defend and counterpunch and pass, without having to worry about going on the offensive or creating openings for herself. She and Sabalenka hit the same number of winners, 14, but Sabalenka had 20 more unforced errors.
“I just tried to stay in it,” was Gauff’s smiling assessment of her scrambling, one-more-ball-back victory.
Zheng and Gauff have played once, on clay in Rome this spring, and Gauff won 7-6 (4), 6-1. Both women have been successful on clay and hard courts, so the surface switch for this match may not mean much. A faster court may speed up Zheng’s attack, but it may also add some zip to Gauff’s counterpunches.
This will be the first year-end final for both. Gauff says she’s not nervous, and that the fall season is “just a plus,” however it happens to go. That relaxed attitude may be a big reason she’s been so successful over the past four weeks. Zheng says she has kept “her motivations pretty high” through a long season, and she’ll see this as a stepping stone to a first Slam title next year.
The question to me is whether Zheng, even if her serve keeps clicking, has enough first-strike firepower to hit Gauff off the court for two sets. I’ll play the percentages and say no.
Winner: Gauff
