Swiatek beat Gauff to reach China Open final

BEIJING: World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland put an end to world No. 3 Coco Gauff's 16-match winning streak with a 6-2, 6-3 win in the semifinals of the China Open here on Saturday.

Swiatek broke Gauff's serve four times, twice in each set, while conceding no break point throughout the 79-minute match.

Gauff committed a total of 24 unforced errors, including 14 forehand errors, against Swiatek's ten.

The American called medical assessment of her right shoulder after the third game of the second set.

Things then saw improvement for her as she held her following two service games until the third one and the last game of the match, where she hit a forehand into net to allow Swiatek to break on love and win the tie.

In Sunday's final, Swiatek will face Russia's Liudmila Samsonova who beat fifth seed Elena Rybakina of Ka-zakhstan 7-6, 6-3 in other semifinal.

The 24-year-old Samsonova, who is ranked 22, has now beaten three former Grand Slam champions in Beijing with victories over Petra Kvitova and Ostapenko in earlier rounds. Agencies

Also Read: Swiatek through to China Open semis; Sabalenka beaten on razor-thin tie-breaks

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