No. 2 seed Coco Gauff and No. 3 Amanda Anisimova will clash in an All-American semifinal at the China Open in Beijing.
Gauff rolled to a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win on Thursday against Germany’s Eva Lys while Anisimova rallied for a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 victory against sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy.
The WTA 1000 tournament’s other quarterfinal matches on Friday feature another American showdown between No. 5 Jessica Pegula and No. 16 Emma Navarro. England’s Sonay Kartal will take on No. 26 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.
Gauff, the defending champion, advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year and improved to 14-1 in Beijing with an 88-minute win against the hard-hitting Lys.
“She’s a tough opponent. She hit some incredible shots on the run,” Gauff said after the match. “I was trying my best to stay aggressive. Just staying confident in my game and not being too passive when I have the lead.”
Gauff didn’t have her A game on serve — three aces and four double faults — but managed to save four of seven break points. The players strung together five consecutive service breaks in the first set and three straight in the second.
Gauff, 21, and Anisimova, 24, have met twice before in tour-level competition but never on a hardcourt. Anisimova won a three-setter in the Round of 32 on the Wimbledon grass in 2022, while Gauff prevailed in straight sets in the quarterfinals on the clay in Parma, Italy, in 2021.
“I’m excited to play Coco, and every time we play, it’s always a tough match, and it’s actually going to be a lot of fun to play another American here, so I’m really looking forward to it now,” Anisimova said.
Anisimova needed two hours and 47 minutes to finish off a win that secured her first-ever ticket to the WTA Finals in Riyadh. She is in the semifinals for the sixth time this season, a career high.
“Yeah, it’s my first time playing there, and it was a goal that I set for myself, so it was the only one I made, so I’m super excited and now I’m very excited for the semifinal,” Anisimova said of clinching a spot in Riyadh.
Anisimova saved 11 of 14 break points against Paolini, who rallied from a 5-3 deficit to take the opening set.
Anisimova won the first four games of the second set en route to leveling the match, then overcame an early break in the third set to advance.
–Field Level Media
