Coco Gauff rallies again to reach China Open final

BEIJING -- 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 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final as the 20-year-old American bids for her second WTA 1000 title.

Muchova defeated Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Gauff, who has a 7-1 record in tour finals, 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.

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

Gauff, 20, 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 broke Badosa three more times -- against 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.

"I've had tough opponents the whole tournament," Gauff said.

In the quarterfinals, Gauff trailed the No. 115-ranked Yuliia Starodubtseva before rallying to win in three sets.