Aryna Sabalenka battles back from brink of defeat against Coco Gauff to reach Wuhan Open final

Aryna Sabalenka recovers from set and 4-2 down to beat Coco Gauff in Wuhan Open semi-finals; world No 2 has won 16 matches in a row in this tournament after title victories in 2018 and 2019; Gauff’s 21 double faults let Sabalenka back into match after dominant first set in China

Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a set and 4-2 down as she pounced on Coco Gauff’s serving woes 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 cancelled for the next four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Belarusian’s hopes of a third straight title looked all but over as a ruthless Gauff sped through the first set 6-1 – she was 5-0 up in 19 minutes – and then moved two games from victory after a hold of serve ended five consecutive breaks at the start of the second set.

But Gauff was broken twice from 4-2 up as her serve continued to disintegrate – the American sending down nine double faults in total in the second set, including three in a game on two occasions.

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