Coco Gauff has been through to her maiden WTA Finals final after ousting Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4) 6-3 to set up a championship match against Zheng Qinwen.
Very early in the first set, the Belarusian saved two break points in the second game, the Belarusian earned the first break of the match in the third game but blew it instantly after getting broken back in the following game.
After blowing an early break, the world No. 1 got another break in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead - but just like it happened the first set - the American instantly got the break back and forced a tie-break.
Failing to serve out for the first set mentally impacted Sabalenka, who lost the first four points as Gauff opened a 6-1 lead before converting her fourth set point to seal the opener.
After losing the first set in a devastating way, the three-time Grand Slam champion also suffered back-to-back breaks in the third and fifth games as the world No. 3 opened a comfortable 4-1 second-set lead.
In the rest of the set, Sabalenka got two breaks but also lost her serve two more times as Gauff went on to complete a two-set win.
During the match, the world No. 1 fired a stunning 47 unforced errors.
Sabalenka lost back-to-back matches for the first this season
After starting her campaign in Riyadh with wins over Zheng Qinwen and Jasmine Paolini improved her impressive streak to 22 wins in the last 23 matches. But then, she was beaten by Elena Rybakina her Round-Robin finale.
Following that loss, she admitted that she wasn't motivated because she had already secured the top ranking in the group. But she vowed that she would learn from that and try to do better in her next match - which didn't happen. And by losing to Rybakina and Gauff the world No. 1 lost two consecutive matches for the first time this season.
For Sabalenka, it came at the worst possible time and she now remains without a title at the WTA Finals.
