One year after winning the ASB Classic trophy, Coco Gauff is back to another final, and she'll take on Elina Svitolina to win another one.
Something is working for Coco Gauff in Auckland, as the American is now a combined 9-0 this year and last year at the event. She won the event last year by beating Rebeka Masarova in the final and will be looking to do the same thing this year, but it will be a bit more complicated.
Svitolina is likely to put up a better fight than Masarova, who only won two games. The Ukrainian has been really strong all week, and will attempt to win her first title this season. It's a big match and an important one, but how likely is she to dethrone Gauff? Find out in the preview below.
Head-to-head:
Gauff and Svitolina only played once so far and the Ukrainian actually won that match. It happened a long time ago, in 2021, when the American was still fairly inexperienced, making this upcoming one a vastly different match.
So, how do we predict what might happen here? We look at how they performed and how they stylistically match up.
Prediction:
Gauff is somewhat of a chameleon able to play in various ways. Early on in her career, she was very similar to Svitolina in her ability to just battle and grind out points.
Nowadays, she's more assertive, opting to attack and finish points. Svitolina has the tools to give her trouble, but I'm not sure she has enough to really win the match.
It would require a mammoth effort, and she's played quite a bit of tennis this week. I feel like that will come back to bite her here. Gauff's positive track record here is another bonus for her.
Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in 2 sets.
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