WTA: A slice of history for Coco in Beijing

When she eased past Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-3 in the Beijing final on Sunday, Coco Gauff found out about two particularly impressive stats regarding her victory.

One is that she has become the first player in Open Era history to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals (she is 8-1 in career finals across all surfaces).

Two is that she is the first American woman since Serena Williams in 2013 to win the China Open title.

“Honestly, anytime my name is mentioned in whatever sentence hers is, it's like a huge honour,” said Gauff on Sunday.

“It is pretty cool. I didn't know that was on the line. I hope somebody else breaks it. I think records are meant to be broken, honestly.”

What’s cooler than breaking someone else’s record? Encouraging others to break your own.

That’s Coco Gauff for you!

“I feel like every tournament, it's a new stat or new record. I'm very thankful. I would be excited to see when the next stat is, the next girl, I don't know who, will be the first person to do this since Coco Gauff. I'm excited to see that,” she added.

Gauff played her “best match in a while” to claim her third win in three meetings with the crafty Muchova, who had lost to the American in the Cincinnati final and US Open semi-finals last year.

On Sunday in Beijing, Gauff needed just one hour and 16 minutes to beat the Czech, breaking serve five times and dropping just five points behind her first serve.

“You kicked my butt today, literally, again,” said Muchova with a laugh during the trophy ceremony. “I mean you must love to play against me, I don’t know. It was really tough today, it just shows how great of an athlete you are. Congratulations for another win and good luck for the rest of the season.”

Gauff set the record straight in her post-match press conference, assuring everyone that Muchova is fun to watch but not fun to play.

“She's a great player. I think she's one of the most talented players we have on tour. It's great to see her back healthy. I think everybody agrees, if you're a tennis fan, I don't get how you can dislike her because she's a nice person. Just her game is so fun to watch,” said Gauff.

“Honestly, I don't like playing her. She said that in the speech, but I really don't. You don't know what she's going to do. Sometimes I'm holding my breath when I play her.”

Gauff, who now owns two WTA 1000 titles to go with her 2023 US Open crown, believes it’s perspective, more than anything else, that has helped her battle her way through the China Open draw.

She was down a set in three rounds en route to the final, and was happy to just be in the championship match.

Beijing wasn’t even on her initial schedule, but she suggested it to her team, which now includes Matt Daly alongside Jean-Christophe Faurel, now that she has parted ways with Brad Gilbert, because she felt it was going to be fun.

“I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. Honestly, I was just telling myself the whole match I'm proud of myself, how I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practicing on, too, and stick to it,” said Gauff, who is now up to No.4 in both the rankings and the Race to the WTA Finals.

“It feels great. It's a personal achievement. I think I'm realising more and more each day that tennis is not a measure of my value as a person. I think the more you realise that, the more relaxed these tournaments become.

“I'm still going to experience pressure. It's easier said than done. I'm sure at another tournament, I will be like, I felt so much pressure today. But it's up and down.”

On her part, Muchova can walk away from Beijing with plenty to be proud of. She defeated Olympic gold medallist and home favourite Zheng Qinwen and snapped the 15-match winning streak of reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the final.

The 28-year-old Czech has moved up from 49 to 31 in the world rankings as a result, continuing her remarkable bounce back from a 10-month injury layoff and career-threatening wrist surgery.

“It's really nice to be getting back there, gaining the confidence, the game, and as well the fitness,” said Muchova.

“It's nothing you can work on outside the court to get these real matches. I need I think as many matches as I can. It's good for me for the rest of the season and for next season.”