Grand Slam champions Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff to meet for first time since January's Australian Open in semi-finals in Wuhan; watch Sabalenka vs Gauff for a place in the Wuhan Open final live on Sky Sports+ on Saturday at 9.30am
Friday 11 October 2024 15:02, UK
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will play each other in Saturday's semi-finals at the Wuhan Open in China after comfortable straight-set wins in Friday's quarter-finals.
World No 1 Sabalenka and No 4-ranked Gauff will compete for a place in Sunday's Wuhan final, with the winner to face either Wang Xinyu or Qinwen Zheng.
Gauff claimed her eighth WTA win in a row and 50th of the year with a 6-0 6-4 triumph over Poland's Magda Linette as the 20-year-old American chases back-to-back tournament successes after victory at last week's China Open in Beijing.
While Gauff won the first set without losing a game, the American had to save four break points on her serve in order to do so, with her returns ultimately proving too strong for Linette at the decisive moments.
"I'm really happy with how I played," said Gauff, who overcame making eight double-faults in the match.
"Obviously a smooth first set. Had chances to maybe close it out in the 5-3 game in the second, but happy I was able to close it out on my serve."
Sabalenka later cruised through to her third successive Wuhan semi-final by beating Polish opponent Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-2 in a one-sided match in which the Belarusian delivered 42 winners.
The 26-year-old won the previous two editions of the tournament, in 2018 and 2019, prior to its five-year absence from the calendar after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gauff holds a 4-3 advantage in the pair's previous meetings, famously winning the 2023 US Open final before Sabalenka gained her revenge in this year's Australian Open semis.
"We've played a lot of matches in the past, a lot of great battles," said Sabalenka. "I'm really excited."
While Sabalenka vs Gauff will dominate global headlines, the attention of the home fans will be focused on an all-Chinese contest in the other semi-final.
Wang Xinyu fought back from losing the first set to beat world No 33 Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6).
Fifth seed Qinwen Zheng then joined her compatriot in the last four by beating Italian third seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2 3-6 6-3.
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