Coco Gauff will compete against Jessica Pegula in the WTA Finals semi-finals in Mexico, while Iga Swiatek will face Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus. Swiatek acknowledged that the games may not be the most beautiful, but they are putting in their best effort to provide an enjoyable show.
World No 2 Iga Swiatek and world No 3 Coco Gauff have reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Poland’s Swiatek has confirmed her position by defeating world No 6 Ons Jabeur with a 6-1 6-2 score.
“I wanted to thank all the fans for coming. The conditions are so tough that without you, I don’t know if we’d find the motivation to play,” Swiatek said after the match.
“I know these games aren’t the most beautiful, but we’re really trying our best to give you guys the best show possible. Thank you for coming and please come tomorrow and for the final as well.”
Earlier, Gauff defeated Vondrousova, two major champions from this year.
She won the final match on Friday night with a score of 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3. This ended the Czech player’s chances of moving on to the semi-finals.
The win was a big achievement for Gauff. She became the first teenager to reach the semifinals of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
She will play against Jessica Pegula, while Swiatek will face Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff struggled with her second serve and only won 1 out of 11 points. Her overall service performance in the first set against Vondrousova was only 39%. However, her game improved afterwards.
Gauff won the match even though she made 38 mistakes, while Vondrousova only made 25. However, Gauff hit more winners, with a total of 31 compared to Vondrousova’s 25.
“I felt like I needed to hit through the court,” Gauff said. “She’s a very tricky player. When you play her pace and let her move you side to side, it’s tough. And I played her, it’s my third time, so I know that.
“But obviously, in the wind, it’s tough to be as aggressive as you want, because the bounces are weird and the ball was moving. So I’m glad I made that adjustment and didn’t get too frustrated when I missed. You pay the price for hopefully a good reward.”
A rainy victory brought Sabalenka close to securing the top position in the WTA Tour’s final rankings of the season.
Sabalenka, the highest-ranked player, won a match against fourth-seeded Rybakina of Kazakhstan on Friday with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, securing a place in the semifinals.
If Sabalenka defeats Iga Swiatek on Saturday, she will secure the top spot in the rankings for the year.
Sabalenka, the current Australian Open champion, ended up with a 2-1 record in the Bacalar Group. She came in second place behind Jessica Pegula, who had a perfect 3-0 record.
Rybakina won only one match out of three and came in third place in the Chetumal Group with a record of 1-2. Sakkari, who was seeded eighth, didn’t win any matches and finished with a 0-3 record.
Sabalenka led Rybakina 6-2, 3-5 when play was stopped on Thursday. Rybakina won the second set, but Sabalenka took the lead in the third set and didn’t face any challenges after that.
“Was really tough battle in really tough conditions,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy that I was able to get this win no matter what.”
Pegula and Gauff have played three matches against each other, with Pegula winning two of them. Swiatek and Sabalenka have also played two matches against each other in 2023, and they have each won one match. Swiatek currently has a career record of 5 wins and 3 losses against Sabalenka.
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