Coco Gauff admitted that she entered the Jasmine Paolini match determined to get a win simply because she didn't want to repeat her 2022 WTA Finals fate.
After picking up a three-set defeat to Jessica Pegula in her opening Riyadh match, Gauff needed to beat Paolini to keep her chances of qualifying for the semifinal stage. And she managed to do so after registering a 6-3 6-2 win over the Italian tennis star.
For Gauff, this is her fourth consecutive WTA Finals appearance. In her debut at the prestigious season-ending tournament in 2022 in Fort Worth, the American went 0-3. In her next two appearances, the 21-year-old reached the event's semifinal in 2023 before winning the title last year.
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"I was just trying to play relaxed. I played a WTA Finals where I lost all three matches [in 2022], so I was determined to not make this a repeat of that. I knew that today's win was important to keep myself in the tournament," the world No. 3 admitted.
Gauff now has to beat Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka leads the Stefanie Graf Group with a 2-0 record, Gauff and Pegula stand at a 1-1 record, while Paolini has been eliminated after losing her opening two matches.
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On Thursday, Gauff will clash against Sabalenka for the first time since beating the Belarusian in the French Open final. And it will be another very important match for the American against the Belarusian since she needs to beat the world No. 1.
