Qinwen Zheng started the match better and won the first set 6:3. She was more reliable, she took matters into her own hands. She didn't wait to see what Coco Gauff would suggest. The Chinese woman attacked again and again. Sometimes she made mistakes, but not so much that in the end she didn't make a profit. She was getting better and growing by the minute.
Similarly at the beginning of the second game, when she was leading 3:1. Then Zheng probably began to realize how close she was to great success, probably the greatest success of her career after the Olympic gold medal she won this year in Paris. In January, she also reached the final of the Australian Open, recently winning, among others: tournament in Tokyo and was in the finals in Wuhan.
Zheng couldn't stand it
From the middle of the second set, the image of the game changed. The nervous Chinese girl started to break things more often, and Coco Gauff, in turn, started attacking. It was as if she remembered that since she had already achieved so much success in doubles, she could play at the net. She scored points with volleys several times and began to dominate her opponent. She also played great defense.
We will remember an action that Zheng wanted to end by force. She hit with all her might, letting out a scream, but the quick Gauff defended herself and scored a point. – You heard that scream. But the American's defense in this match and the entire tournament was at the highest level – commented Bartosz Ignacik from Canal+ Sport.
Gauff won the second set 6-4 and from then on the match dropped a bit. It was mainly a war of nerves. A war that the younger tennis player endured. Coco Gauff, despite being only 20 years old, played extremely calmly at the end of the match. She made up for the loss in the last game from 3:5 and 15:30. This means that 22-year-old Zheng was just two balls away from winning the entire event in her WTA Finals debut.
The Chinese woman has something to regret, because she clearly couldn't stand it in the last minutes of the final duel. Although she saved five match points, she started from 0:6 in the tie-break and was unable to catch up with her opponent. She started to rush and make more mistakes. Coco Gauff, on the other hand, adopted a safe tactic. She waited for her opponent's mistakes and used mainly simple moves. It may not have been the most impressive tennis, but it was extremely effective at such an important moment. It looked similar on Friday in her semi-final against Aryna Sabalenko. The Belarusian threw her racket furiously and did a lot to lose the match.
The final was the longest match at this year's WTA Finals. After three hours and seven minutes, Coco Gauff could have started screaming with joy. Previously, she remained extremely calm, with no great emotions visible. She was also not bothered by the spontaneously reacting Chinese fans. There has been no shortage of these in Riyadh in recent days. After the match, they did not show off when instead of applauding the champion, they started whistling. It was a historic final – as commented by Joanna Sakowicz-Kostecka, never before had a WTA Finals match ended with a tie-break in the last decisive set.
Great success Gauff
Coco Gauff became the youngest WTA Finals winner in 20 years, when then 17-year-old Maria Sharapova turned out to be the best on the courts in Los Angeles. The American deserved success in Riyadh like no one else. Along the way, she defeated both Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka. The beginning of her cooperation with the new trainer turned out to be excellent. Since September, it is no longer run by Brad Gilbert, but by Matt Daly.
This is the end of the WTA season for the best players. The next competition starts at the end of December in Australia. They promise to be extremely interesting. Aryna Sabalenka will be the leader of the ranking until the end of the year. Iga Świątek has recently been working with a new coach, Jelena Rybakina will start working with Goran Ivanisevic. Coco Gauff will be encouraged after her triumph in Saudi Arabia, and Qinwen Zheng, despite the loss on Saturday, has been developing impressively in recent months.