© Getty Images Sport – Phil Walter
No. 1 seed Coco Gauff continued her brilliant Auckland display this week as the top-ranked American female tennis player safely reached the final, while second-seeded Elina Svitolina avoided a shock defeat after managing to complete a comeback.
Gauff, the defending Auckland champion, dominated Navarro 6-3 6-1 to reach back-to-back finals in New Zealand. On the other side, Svitolina survived a scare as the Ukrainian tennis star came back from a set down to beat Wang Xiyu 2-6 6-4 6-3.
When Gauff, 19, and 29-year-old Svitolina meet in the Auckland final, it is going to be their second meeting. In their first meeting at the 2021 Australian Open, Svitolina won 6-4 6-3. However, world No. 3 Gauff is now a much better and more improved player than she was three years ago.
How Gauff beat Navarro?
The first break points of the match were seen in the fourth game, when Gauff earned three consecutive break points and realized her second break point to go up by an early break. Up by a break, Gauff routinely held on to her serve for the remainder of the first set, not allowing a single break point to Navarro.
After winning the first set, Gauff also made a commanding start to the…
