Coco Gauff Advances to Wuhan Open Semifinals with Convincing Win over Magda Linette

Coco Gauff continued her impressive form in China as she secured a spot in the semifinals of the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open on Friday. The 19-year-old American defeated Poland’s Magda Linette in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, marking her ninth consecutive match victory in China.

The match, which lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes, showcased Gauff’s growing prowess on the WTA Tour. Having previously bested Linette in a three-setter at the 2021 US Open, Gauff, now ranked World No. 4, displayed dominance against a seasoned opponent who had earlier upset higher seeds Liudmila Samsonova and Daria Kasatkina to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

“I’m really happy with how I played,” Gauff expressed post-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.” Gauff did not concede her serve throughout the match and broke Linette four times.

The victory positions Gauff as the first woman to advance to the Wuhan semifinals, where she will face either the No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka or Poland’s Magdalena Frech.

Gauff’s statistics from the match were impressive, including saving all five break points she encountered, with three coming in the opening set. Despite eight double faults, Gauff’s aggressive play yielded 19 winners against Linette’s 13 and limited her own unforced errors to 16 compared to Linette’s 22.

This achievement marks Gauff as the third American to reach the singles semifinals in Wuhan, joining the ranks of Venus Williams in 2015 and Alison Riske-Amritraj in 2019. The 19-year-old has now clinched 50 match wins for the season, a feat achieved alongside only Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on the Hologic WTA Tour this year.

Under the guidance of her new coach Matt Daly, Gauff’s recent accomplishments, including an eighth career title in Beijing, have propelled her rise in the global rankings.