Gauff procured her 50th win of the year in WTA matches as she beat Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4, while Sabalenka crushed Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2.
“In the past, we’ve had a lot of great battles and matches. Sabalenka, who has won three of her seven previous encounters with Gauff, stated, “I’m really excited.”
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, broke twice to take a 4-0 lead and held her own serves to win the first set. She used her powerful forehand well.
In the second set, Poland’s Frech attempted to fight back, getting her first break when she was down 3-0 and almost making it 3-3, but Sabalenka saved two break points to keep her lead and broke again to win.
I had to be present right from the start. Sabalenka stated, “I’m glad I was able to win this match in two sets.”
Sabalenka’s next opponent, Gauff, was just as dominant earlier in the day. She saved four break points and won 67% of her return points, and Linette, a former Australian Open semi-finalist, lost the first set to a bagel.
In the second set, Gauff, who committed eight double faults, faced a more difficult challenge. However, one of Linette’s 22 unforced errors gave the American an advantage in the seventh game, giving her the only break of the set and securing the victory.
After extending her winning streak to nine matches, 20-year-old Gauff said in the post-match interview, “I played well… overall, maybe two bad games.”
In their quarterfinal match, Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen defeated Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
The triumph sets up an all-Chinese semi-last, where Zheng will confront Wang Xinyu, who defeated Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) in a firmly challenged fight.
