Gauff beats Kostyuk to stay alive in WTA Finals

Los Angeles: Coco Gauff fought her way to a 6-4, 7-5 round-robin victory over Marta Kostyuk on Thursday, securing her place in the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California. Gauff, currently ranked fourth in the world, needs assistance to advance to the semi-finals of the prestigious season-ending tournament. Should her fellow American, Jessica Pegula, defeat Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in their upcoming match, Pegula will advance in her stead. Noskova has already progressed. However, Gauff gave it her all with a resilient straight-sets win.

Trailing 5-1 in the second set, Gauff saved three set points in the seventh game, igniting a streak of six consecutive games to clinch the match. The first set had been equally intense, broken in the opening game, with Gauff managing to secure a 4-2 lead before holding for 5-2. Kostyuk appeared demoralized when she took a medical timeout for treatment on her right wrist.

After having her wrist taped, she returned to serve out the set, aided by two double faults from Gauff. Gauff regained control to win the set, but she soon found herself struggling. Down two breaks, she experienced back tightness and received treatment during the match. Despite nine double faults, Gauff emerged victorious, completing the victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

Gauff admitted, "I'm not going to lie, my head was already in that third set. Then once it got to 5-4, I was like, OK, I can win this set. I got a little bit lucky. She gave me a few errors. I'm glad I was able to close that out."