Gauff rolls past Muchova for China Open title

ESPN News Services

Oct 6, 2024, 09:13 AM ET

Coco Gauff won her second title this season with a lopsided 6-1, 6-3 victory over Karolina Muchova in the final of the China Open on Sunday.

The sixth-ranked Gauff, 20, became the youngest China Open champion in 14 years. She is also the second American champion in Beijing, following Serena Williams’ title runs in 2004 and 2013.

It was Gauff’s eighth career title. She improved her record in tour finals to 8-1 and now has a 7-0 record in hard-court finals, a feat never achieved before in the Open era.

“I want to say congratulations to you, Karolina, it’s great to see you back on tour,” Gauff said of Muchova, who spent an extended spell sidelined after suffering a wrist injury at the 2023 US Open. “I think you’re such an amazing player, and you deserve everything, and hopefully you play many more finals.”

The tournament was Gauff’s first after adding Matt Daly to her coaching team, following her split with Brad Gilbert last month.

“I would like to thank my team. It’s our first tournament together as a full, complete team,” Gauff said. “Thank you, Matt, this is our first tournament together, and obviously, it’s going well, so thank you for helping me throughout this week.”

Gauff, who defended her Auckland title earlier this season, wasted no time and took the opening set in 31 minutes. She dropped just five points on her first serve, hit 24 winners and broke Muchova five times.

Gauff’s win in Beijing improved her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals featuring the eight top players for the third consecutive year.

She will overtake Jessica Pegula to take the No. 5 spot ahead of the final WTA 1000 tournament of the season, the Wuhan Open starting Monday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.