By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday October 11, 2024

 

Beijing champ Coco Gauff powered to her ninth consecutive victory on Friday in Wuhan.

Photo Source: Getty

Coco Gauff continues to ride the hot hand in Wuhan. So does Aryna Sabalenka.

On Saturday something will have to give as the pair of Grand Slam champions meet for the eighth time for a spot in the final.

Gauff won her ninth consecutive match on Friday easing past Poland’s Magda Linette, while Sabalenka remained undefeated in Wuhan, notching her 15th consecutive win at the venue, 6-2, 6-2 over Poland’s Magdalena Linette.



Gauff, who defeated Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final, holds the 4-3 lifetime edge over Sabalenka but it was the Belarusian who took their last meeting, at this year’s Australian Open, 7-6(2), 6-4, en route to the title.

“We had a lot of great, big matches, great fights. I'm really looking forward to always enjoying playing against her,” Sabalenka said of Gauff. “I think the main thing is, once again, focus on myself, focus on my footwork, go to the net, finish the point over there.

‘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.”

Gauff saved all five break points she faced to notch her 50th victory of 2024 on Friday, breaking Linette’s serve four times to become the first American to reach the Wuhan semis since Alison Riske-Amritraj in 2019.



Gauff hit 19 winners and 16 unforced errors, but threw in eight double faults and only won 42 percent of her second serve points. That’s something she’ll need to improve against the World No.2 on Saturday.

Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion at Wuhan, was her typical relentless self as she crushed 42 winners in her 6-2, 6-2 takedown of first-time WTA 1000 quarterfinalist Frech.

The 26-year-old continues to close the gap on World No.1 Iga Swiatek, and hopes to finish the season strong. She has already moved ahead of Swiatek in the WTA live rankings, setting the stage for a showdown at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. 

“I just want to bring my best tennis on court, play on my highest level these two last events and hope that I'll finish the year at world No. 1.”

Sabalenka saved five of six break points and broke Frech five times, winning 18 of 26 second-serve return points to earn her tour-leading 36th hard court win of the season. She improved to 8-5 in WTA quarterfinals in 2024.