Aryna Sabalenka rallied from down a set to fall 4-2 behind as she took advantage of Coco Gauff’s numerous double faults to reach the Wuhan Open final and extend her winning streak at the tournament to 16 matches.

World No. 2 and recent US Open champion Sabalenka triumphed in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019 before the event was canceled for the next four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Belarusian’s hopes of a third straight title seemed all but gone as a ruthless Gauff breezed through the first set 6-1 (she was 5-0 up after 19 minutes) and then moved two games from victory after a serve ended five times in a row. breaks at the beginning of the second set.

But Gauff was broken twice from 4-2 as her serve continued to disintegrate – the American sent a total of nine double faults in the second set, including twice in a game.

Sabalenka claimed the second set 6-4 and then took the decider – in which Gauff also recorded nine double faults to take her match total to 21 – by the same scoreline to level her career with her opponent at 4-4. and set up a Sunday final against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen or Wang Xinyu.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka was completely dominated in the first set and looked to the heavens with relief as she won the sixth game to avoid being bagged.

The second set was a strange affair with many breaks before Gauff took a two-game lead to seemingly reach the final, only for her serving issues to let Sabalenka back in.

Sabalenka won seven games in a row, closing out the second set and putting a break ahead in the third, and although Gauff then fought back to 4–4, she was broken again in the 10th game when Sabalenka converted her second match point.

Sabalenka had defeated Gauff in the pair’s previous meeting, in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, winning that tournament for the second year in a row.

Sinner in Shanghai final; confirmed as number 1 at the end of the year

Meanwhile, in the first men’s semi-final in Shanghai, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner He defeated Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 and will now face Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final.

Machac had stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals but could not pull off another upset despite breaking Sinner in the opening leg of the match.

Sinner’s victory guaranteed that he would end the year at the top of the rankings, becoming the first Italian to achieve the feat.

He said afterwards: “It’s something you dream about as a kid, when you’re young, just to get to No. 1. As the end of the year approaches, it is also a different and special feeling.

“It obviously means so much to me. This is something I couldn’t achieve without all the people I have around me: the family and friends, and also a great honor for my team.”

What’s in store for Sky Sports Tennis in October?

• Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (until October 13)
• Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (until October 13)
• Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
• Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
• European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
• Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
• Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
• Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
• Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (21-27 October)
• Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
• Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)

Fabio Wardley’s big rematch with British heavyweight rival Frazer Clarke will be on Saturday’s epic Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol bill, shown live Sky Sports box office. Book now!