Gauff storms past Muchova to win China Open, second title of 2024

World No.6 Coco Gauff became the youngest China Open champion in 14 years after defeating US Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-3 in the final on Sunday. Gauff, 20, is the second American champion in Beijing, following Serena Williams' title runs in 2004 and 2013.  

Beijing is Gauff's second Hologic WTA Tour title of the season and eighth of her career. She began the 2024 season with a successful title defense at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She is the first woman in the Open Era to win her first seven WTA hard-court finals. 

"That's pretty cool," Gauff said. "I hope somebody else breaks it. I think records are meant to be broken, honestly.

"Honestly, it means a lot when I saw that the last American woman to win this was Serena Williams. Anytime my name is mentioned in whatever sentence hers is, it's a huge honor." 

She has now won two WTA 1000 titles after capturing her first last summer at the Cincinnati Open, where she also beat Muchova in the final. She is the second-youngest player to win her first two WTA 1000 finals after Bianca Andreescu, (2019 Indian Wells, Toronto).

Gauff's title run in Beijing has shored up her quest to qualify for the WTA Finals Riyadh for the third consecutive year. The American entered the week at No.6 on the Race to the PIF WTA Finals. With the title, she will overtake US Open finalist Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini to sit at No.4 heading into the final WTA 1000 of the season at the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open.

Gauff improved to 3-0 against Muchova and has won all six sets against the Czech. She also improved her outstanding record in finals to 8-1. Coming off a trio of comeback wins over Naomi Osaka, Yuliia Starodubtseva, and Paula Badosa, Gauff dominated Muchova from the first point in a 76-minute match that featured feats of athleticism that drew repeated gasps from the sellout crowd of 15,000. 

Muchova entered Sunday's match confident after back-to-back Top-10 wins over US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen. But she could not solve the match-up against Gauff, who struck 24 winners while holding Muchova to just 14. The Czech's precision was lacking, as she misfired on 24 unforced errors. Gauff in contrast, hit a tidy eight unforced errors.  

"I lost to her three times in a row," Muchova said. "I'll say, very similar losses. I lost them all the same way. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt. It's very physical with her. I felt like the second one always in the rallies."

After an opening service hold to love, Gauff was off to the races, breaking Muchova immediately and quickly widening the gap on the scoreline with aggressive hitting from the baseline and resilient corner-to-corner defense. 

"Today I just felt on, even from the first game," Gauff said. "I had that feeling that I felt last year, too. Sometimes you just wake up and you're like, 'Today is my day.' There's no science behind it. I think that's just when I played her.

"I played her on some really good days. I don't think today was like her best tennis ever. So maybe I got lucky on that. She's a great player. I think she's one of the most talented players we have on tour."

Despite the loss, Muchova leaves Beijing in dangerous form. She entered the week at No.49 on the PIF WTA Rankings and will surge back into the Top 30. She also sits at No.26 on the Race to the PIF WTA Finals.

Both players now head to Wuhan, where main-draw play begins on Monday, Oct. 7. Gauff is seeded No.4 and will have a first-round bye.