Coco Gauff beats Jessica Pegula to win the Wuhan Open in an all-American final

Coco Gauff played four straight matches to beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to win the Wuhan Open in the all-American final on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Gauff won her second title of the year after winning the French Open on clay, and she now has 11 career titles.

Third-seeded Gauff served to save the second set when trailing 5-3. She held on and then broke sixth-seeded Pegula to love at 5-5.

Pegula’s forehand volley at the net landed wide to give Gauff a first match point, and with Pegula on second serve she placed it with a forehand winner after a short rally.

Coco Gauff of the US celebrates with the trophy after winning the final, while Jessica Pegula of the US poses with the second trophy. | Photo credit: Reuters

“Winning every match (in the tournament) in straight sets, I don’t know if I’ve done that before during a title run,” Gauff said.

“I felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of today’s result.”

The 31-year-old Pegula rallied to beat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals. But this time she lost momentum and missed out on a 10th career title as Gauff became the second American to claim the Wuhan title, after Venus Williams in 2015.

It was their seventh career meeting and first in a final. Pegula leads 4-3 overall against Gauff, with whom she has won several WTA doubles titles.

“When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. That really went a long way, so I appreciate you,” Gauff told Pegula at the trophy presentation.

“It’s great to finally play against you in the final. I hope for many more.” Gauff improved to 11-3 in the final; Pegula dropped to 9-11.

“We spent a lot of time together and even though I’m older, I always admire and respect her immensely,” Pegula said. “She’s just so mature for her age.”