associated Pressread 2 minutes
BEIJING – Second-ranked Iga Swiatek ended Coco Gauff’s 16-match winning streak and reached the China Open final with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over the reigning US Open champion on Saturday.
It was 19-year-old Gauff’s first loss since the quarterfinals in Montreal, which included titles in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows.
Swiatek will face fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina or Lyudmila Samsonova in the final, who will play later on Saturday.
The Polish player kept the pressure on Gauff’s serve, making only four unforced errors in the first set and easily broke the set at 3-1 in 40 minutes.
Swiatek maintained her hold on the match and took a 2-0 lead by breaking Gauff early in the second set.
A medical timeout to evaluate Gauff’s right shoulder did not break Swiatek’s momentum as she closed it out against her opponent to extend her head-to-head record to 8-1.
“I’m really happy with my performance,” Swiatek said. “It feels like I can play freely again, so I’m really happy. It’s been a while since I felt like this. So, I’ll remember that for the rest of my career even though Difficult times may come, in your mind, you can always overcome them. And with hard work you can achieve it.”
Shanghai Masters
Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev recorded his 60th win of the season by defeating Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.
In his first appearance in Shanghai since winning the title in 2019, Medvedev was brutal as he outclassed 98th-ranked Garin in 92 minutes, including breaking the Chilean five times.
The second seeded Russian will next face 26th seed Sebastian Korda.
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas beat qualifier Rinki Hijikata 6-4, 6-2 and 12th-seeded Tommy Paul advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Sebastian Oefner.
Other winners included 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry and Matteo Arnaldi.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz faces Frenchman Gregoire Barrere on Saturday, while China Open winner Jannik Sinner faces American Marcos Giron.