Gauff rallies to reach China Open final and Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic win in Shanghai

BEIJING (AP) — Coco Gauff rallied from a set down for the third consecutive match as she beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the China Open final on Saturday.

The sixth-ranked Gauff will play Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final.

Muchova defeated Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Gauff, who has a 7-1 record in tour finals, has made a habit of slow starts in Beijing this week and the script played out again as the No. 19-ranked Badosa took a tight opening set, saving 10 of 11 break points.

The Spaniard then built a 3-1 lead in the second set before 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff shifted the momentum by saving four break points and then breaking back to level at 4-4.

Gauff held for 5-4 and broke Badosa again to force a deciding set.

“I felt like I was playing the right way the whole time, just a couple of unforced errors, she was playing well too,” Gauff said on court. “I was trying to stay focused. Mentally, I just tried to reset. I got down a couple of times, and I tried to bounce back.”

With all the momentum, Gauff broke Badosa three more times — for the loss of one of her own — as she clinched the match in 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Gauff also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning by walkover and against No. 115-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva in the quarterfinals.

“I've had tough opponents the whole tournament,” Gauff said.

Shanghai Masters

Carlos Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner showed no signs of fatigue from their China Open final this week as they advanced in Shanghai with comfortable straight-set victories in their opening matches.

The second-ranked Alcaraz, who beat the Italian in Beijing on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, recorded his 10th consecutive win against 19-year-old Shang Juncheng of China 6-2, 6-2.

The Spaniard won the first nine points of the match and four of seven break points as he rushed into a third-round meeting with another Chinese player, Wu Yibing.

“I’m not used to playing against players younger than me,” Alcaraz said. “He has been playing good tennis lately, lifting his first ATP (title in Chengdu), so I’m pretty sure he’s going to climb the rankings. I’m just happy to to be able to win these kinds of matches."

Sinner, who is dealing with a doping case, had a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 outing against Taro Daniel of Japan for his 250th career win.

Sinner, who won the U.S Open last month for his second major of the year, fired 12 aces and 38 winners.

“I felt quite comfortable today,” said Sinner, who next plays Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. “I feel in good shape, which is very important for me. I was serving really, really well, especially in important moments, and was moving well.”

Third-ranked Alexander Zverev began with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, while fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic had a tougher task prevailing 7-6 (3), 7-6 (9) over Alex Michelsen of the United States.

No. 65-ranked Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic broke sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev seven times on his way to an upset 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Yosuke Watanuki also surprised by beating No. 35-ranked Brendan Nakashima 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Japanese qualifier next plays seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz of the U.S. or qualifier Terence Atmane of France.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press