The American Coco Gauff, seeded N.1 and 3rd player in the world, beat her compatriot Emma Navarro (31st in the world) 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-final of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland on Saturday, and will defend her title Sunday.
Gauff, 19 years old, champion of the 2023 US Open, will face in the final the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, seeded N.2 and 25th in the world, victorious over the Chinese Wang Xiyu (71st) 2-6, 6-4 , 6-3 in the second semi-final.
If Gauff largely dominated Navarro, against whom she scored ten aces and 26 winning points, Svitolina had much more difficulty getting rid of Wang Xiyu.
Suffering from her lower back, the Ukrainian even called on the trainer twice during the game.