Aryna Sabalenka has continued her stellar run in Wuhan by capitalizing on her strengths and, more importantly, exploiting her American rival Coco Gauff‘s error-prone performance. Rallying from a set and 4-2 down, the World No. 2 pounced on Gauff’s serve fatalities to register an impressive comeback victory. However, neither the aftermath nor the cascade of multiple serve-making errors during their showdown favored the American sensation. Regardless, her Russian competitor reserved some morale-boosting words for Gauff.

Fresh off her QF exit in Beijing, Sabalenka has remained unstoppable at the WTA event, extending her match-winning streak(to 16-0) in Wuhan. In what was a three-set thriller, Gauff was forced to surrender her advantage after crumbling on her serve – executing 21 double faults during the showdown. “I was just trying to put as much pressure on her as I can so she would go even crazier on her serve,” revealed Sabalenka.

Ultimately, those errors helped Sabalenka find her groove and conclude the contest, 1-6, 6-4 6-4, in the event’s semifinal, tying the h2h to 4-4. With this, Gauff set a record for hitting most double faults during a singles match in her nascent career. Not a good record, by all accounts – but Sabalenka found a way to ease the American player’s loss.

Expressing her thoughts on Gauff’s double faults during an on-court interview, the Belarusian highlighted resonating with what the former is going through – having endured a rough patch in her career as well. She said, “I was playing that match thinking, Girl I feel u like nobody else. I know what she’s going thru.”

Later, the reigning Flushing Meadows champion predicted a bright future for the 20-year-old, claiming she could be “1 of the greatest”. “This is tough, but I know if she overcomes this serve situation, she already 1 of the best players, but I’m pretty sure she’s gonna be 1 of the greatest.”

For those unaware, Gauff has been struggling with her serve lately. Her New York title defense ended prematurely because of her issues with the serve. Despite lamenting over such struggles and parting ways with ex-coach Brad Gilbert to join forces with technique-correction specialist Matt Daly, the American star is still trapped in troubled waters.

As for Sabalenka, the 26-year-old is on a mission. World No. 2 and recent US Open champion Sabalenka dominated the Wuhan Open, winning titles in 2018 and 2019. The event was then suspended for four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, the idea of adding a third title sounds like an incredible feat. Moreover, the World No. 2 made a candid admission following her triumph in Wuhan.

Aryna Sabalenka stresses on her ‘important’ victory over Coco Gauff

Belarusian superstar Aryna Sabalenka has set her eyes on the prize – stealing Iga Swiatek‘s white horse from under her. Having iterated her goal to become the World No. 1, the 26-year-old has steadily kept her word. Her string of triumphs only brings her closer to her quest. After downing Coco Gauff and forcing her to concede her winning position, Sabalenka reserved a few words to express her elation.

In an on-court interview, the Belarusian stated: “Coco is incredible player, we’ve had a lot of tough, tough battles in the past, she’s in great shape and I knew going into this match that it’s going to be tough and I’ll have to work hard to get the win. “I don’t know, a couple of mistakes from her and I got a little belief that I still have chances in this match. I’m really happy with this win. It’s a really important one.”

Next up, Sabalenka will lock horns with home-favorite Qinwen Zheng in the summit clash of the Wuhan Open. With one last hurdle to cross, both players will take to the court on Sunday, October 13.