Coco Gauff smiles again and overcomes Paula Badosa to reach China Open final

Gauff rallied from a set down for the third consecutive match

Coco Gauff rallied from a set down for the third consecutive match as she beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the final of the China Open.

The sixth-ranked Gauff will play either Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen or Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final seeking her second WTA-1000 level title. Gauff has a 7-1 record in tour finals.

The 20-year-old American 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 in 59 minutes, saving 10 of 11 break points.

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

Gauff then 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 in her on-court interview. “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 then broke Badosa three more times – for the loss of one of her own – as she clinched the match in 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Gauff had also lost the first set to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round before winning by walkover as the four-time major winner retired with a back injury at one set-all.