"I didn’t expect this outcome" - Gauff excited about playing final in Auckland

| by Balasz Virag

Coco Gauff will contest the 2023 ASB Classic final in Auckland against Rebeka Masarova, and it's been a while since she last played in the final.

The American teenager is one of the biggest prospects on the WTA Tour, but after an early breakthrough, she didn't manage to win many trophies. Her last final was the Roland Garros final last year, which was a loss for Gauff.

Now, she'll have a chance to win her third career trophy tomorrow, and it's a very good chance. Taking on a player who is playing her first final ever.

After beating Tatjana Maria, Sofia Kenin, Lin Zhu, and Danka Kovinic, all in straight sets, the young American started the 2023 season in the best possible way, and now only Rebeka Masarova stands in her way.

"It means a lot, the last final was the French Open. But on the WTA level, the last one was Parma, so it’s been a while."

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Previously, Gauff won trophies in Linz and Parma, which were both WTA 250 tournaments, and now she can add yet another 250 into her trophy collection.

However, the last two finals that the American played were on clay, but to her, it doesn't matter on which surface she plays the final, the most important thing is that she plays it.

"Any final, especially the first week of the year, I didn’t expect this outcome coming into the tournament. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, regardless of the result tomorrow."

On top of that, Gauff is already happy about the result she managed to achieve, going really relaxed into the final. She won the first eight sets of the season, and she could not have asked for a better start to her season, and regardless of the final result, she will want to follow up on that at the upcoming Australian Open.

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