Sawt Falasteen - 'Stubborn' Gauff beats Pegula to win all-American Wuhan Open final

The 21-year-old Gauff secured the Wuhan Open without dropping a set after a 1hr 42min battle in the central Chinese city and became the first player in the Open Era to win her first nine hard-court finals.

"It was a great Asian swing," said Gauff, who reached the semi-finals in Beijing last week, before winning the Wuhan Open.

"I'm going to call JC out," she said referring to her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel.

"He originally didn't want me to come because I had a tough US Open, but I had to prove him wrong.

"I'm a very stubborn person so maybe he said that on purpose for me to have a good result here."

In the first final between the former doubles partners, Gauff came from behind several times in the second set against her fellow American.

The pair had contrasting routes to the final with Gauff dropping a mere 16 games while Pegula battled through three-setters in all eight of her previous matches in China.

- 'Three-set queen' -

"You're the three-set queen," said Gauff as she congratulated Pegula on her run to the final.

"So I was determined not to let you get there today because I felt like the odds would be in your favour in the third set.

"When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms and that really goes a long way and still goes a long way, so I appreciate you," Gauff added.

"It's great to finally play in a final against you and I hope for many more. It's an honour to share the court with you."

Third seed Gauff won the first six points of the match and leapt to a 3-0 advantage.

Pegula recovered from her slow start and went on the attack in game seven, breaking with a fierce backhand winner that helped her get on level terms at 4-4.

It looked like the sixth seed had swung the momentum her way but Gauff found a tiny opening two games later and broke to secure the opening set in 47 minutes.

Pegula had come back from 5-2 down in her deciding set against world number one Aryna Sabalenka the day before and was more than ready for another fightback.

Gauff has been reworking her serve with biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan since the end of August.

but the shot remains susceptible in stressful situations and she double-faulted six times, allowing Pegula to break her twice for a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Gauff drew level before there was another exchange of breaks, Pegula inching ahead with a cunning drop shot.

But Gauff went on a run of winning 10 consecutive points and shortly after raised her arms in celebration as a Pegula volley sailed wide on match point.

"It's an honour to play you, as a friend and fellow American in the final," said Pegula.

"It's our first final, so that was a lot of fun being able to play."

The 31-year-old also gave a shout out to her fitness trainer John Opfer, who helped her withstand such a gruelling Asian swing that included a semi-final run in Beijing and a runner-up showing in Wuhan in fierce heat and humidity.

"I don't think I've played this many hours on the court in such a short amount of time and actually felt good," she said.

H.Jarrar--SF-PST