Defending champion Coco Gauff cruises past Emma Navarro to set up Elina Svitolina final at Auckland Open

Published 06/01/2024 at 10:36 GMT

Coco Gauff kicked off 2023 by winning the Auckland Open and she is on the verge of repeating that triumph this year after reaching Sunday's final with a semi-final victory over fellow American Emma Navarro. Her opponent will be Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who needed two medical timeouts on her way to a three-set win against Chinese player Wang Xiyu.

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Coco Gauff will play Elina Svitolina in the Auckland Open final after beating her compatriot Emma Navarro 6-3 6-1 on Saturday.

The 19-year-old will hope to challenge for the Australian Open later this month after securing her first Grand Slam, the US Open, in New York last year.

Navarro had won her last six sets and with a world ranking of No. 31 she was a credible opponent, but she was unable to match her opponent who sent down 10 aces and saved both break chances she conceded.

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Gauff said after the match that she was enjoying a "good start to my 2024. Emma's an incredible player, we've played each other when I was like 12 years old."

The teenager said she was encouraged by "being aggressive, and really my serve and return. I knew I had to be at my best game if I wanted to win."

Such was the straightforward nature of the defeat that the match lasted just 62 minutes despite a weather delay in the first set, with Gauff able to improve throughout.

She will come up against Svitolina, who had to call for two medical timeouts as she beat China’s Wang Xiyu 2-6 6-4 6-3.

At 4-1 down in the first set she needed treatment for a lower back problem, before leaving court for a timeout, but could not avoid losing the first set.

The Ukrainian broke her opponent in the 10th game of the second set as she levelled the scores, and then needed another medical timeout at the start of the third.

There was not too much difficulty for her despite those interruptions, as she broke twice to go 5-1 clear. A late break from Wang was not enough as Svitolina served out for victory and a place in Sunday’s final.

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