Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula will be playing in the 2023 Madrid Open final after another solid performance.
Both Americans are already out of the singles competitions, but they are still competing in Madrid as they are very close to a doubles title. Gauff and Pegula are playing doubles together for quite some time already and it's not a new situation for them to play doubles also after singles exit at a WTA event.
In Madrid, Gauff was the first player eliminated from the two, losing to Paula Badosa in the third round. A couple of rounds later, also Pegula lost as she was bested by Veronika Kudermetova in the quarterfinals.
But the two successfully moved past the quarterfinals stages in the doubles to set up a semifinal meeting with Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse. The two teams never met before, so it was their first clash and it was already for a spot in the WTA 1000 final.
The American duo had a terrible start to the match, losing 0-3 early by two breaks, and also 2-5 later in the set. Their opponents had two service games to close out the first set but they weren't ready for what was to come from the first-seeded team.
Gauff and Pegula won 20 of the following 24 points and magically turned around the first set, winning it 7-5 and taking the advantage into the second set. But once again, their opponents had a better start and led by one break twice.
But the Americans were able to come back every time and in the twelfth game of the second set, they even had two match points to finish off the match. But after they weren't successful, a tie-break had to be played.
Same to the storyline of the whole match, Kostyuk and Ruse were the first team to lead also in the tie-break. But once again, a strong comeback from the first seeds followed, winning the match 7-5, 7-6(5) and booking the spot in the 2023 Madrid Open final.
In the final, they will meet either Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, or their final opponents from the 2023 Miami Open, their most recent title run, Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend.
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