The American Coco Gauff was proclaimed champion of the WTA Finals this Saturday, winner of a tremendous fight, of an incessant fight of more than three hours, in which she emerged every time she found herself against the ropes until come back against China’s Qinwen Zeng (3-6, 6-4 and 7-6(2))who saw herself as the winner, but who felt the pressure and could not stop the final acceleration of the North American that led to success.
It was a relentless face-to-face, full of alternatives. With great moments of quality and without any giving an iota, with dramatic overtones, epic in the resolution of the duel between two of the youngest stars on the circuit; the youngest matchup of finalists in the season-ending tournament since Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova met in 2004.
The player from Florida, the number three in the world who left behind the first two in the ranking, the Polish Iga Swiatek and the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenkahas lost only two matches since the US Open that recently gave her her second WTA 1000 title.
At 20 years and 241 days old, he became the youngest champion since the Russian Maria Sharapova in 2004aged 17 years and 210 days, and pocketed a total of $4,805,000. The largest prize money in the history of women’s professional tennis. Gauff held his own despite Zheng’s better startmore adapted to the situation, less impacted by the appointment. The American had already beaten the Chinese the only time they met, this year, in Rome, on dirt, in the quarterfinals.
The American, who won the ninth title of her career, the third of the course, after Auckland and Beijing, and the one with the greatest reputation after the United States Open that she won in 2003 – her only Grand Slam so far, a year after reaching the final of Roland Garros. The fourth American to win the WTA Finals before turning 21, after Chris Evert (1972-73, 75), Tracy Austin (1980) and Serena Williams (2001) she never gave up. With 6-3 and 2-0 against he emerged and turned the situation around to take the outcome to the final round.
He lost control of the third set and was again on the ropes. Zheng went to 5-4 and served on her side, but her pulse trembled and Gauff resisted. They first had two match points to close it before the final tie break, the decisive stretch at the height of the quality shown by both in the final. He accelerated in the tiebreaker, won the first six points and overwhelmed Zheng whose hand shook at key moments. Gauff took advantage of it. He did not forgive and won the final. She set herself up as a ‘teacher’.
