Third seed Coco Gauff defeated fourth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2 6-3 to win the biggest title of her career at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
After making an impressive 3-0 start, Gauff lost two games in a row, but claimed two more breaks to ease through the first set. In the second set, Gauff twice recovered from a break down and dominated the last few games to clinch victory on her second match point.
Gauff defeated three Top 20 opponents en route to the title – No.15 Belinda Bencic, No.18 Liudmila Samsonova and No.9 Maria Sakkari – the first time she has recorded two or more Top 20 wins at a tournament since 2021 Rome.
At 19 years old, Gauff is the first teenager and youngest champion in the history of the Washington DC event. She has now become the third American to win the title, along with Sloane Stephens (2015) and Jessica Pegula (2019). The young star also triumphed here in doubles in 2019 with Caty McNally.
This is Gauff’s second WTA title this season, following her earlier triumph in Auckland, and fourth in her career. Meanwhile, the pressure continues to mount for Sakkari, as the Greek has now lost her last six finals. The Mubadala Citi DC Open title match was especially difficult for Sakkari, as she had won her previous three matches at the tournament in a 29-hour span….
