Gauff ousts defending champion Samsonova, sets up Washington, DC final against Sakkari

There will be a new champion of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Liudmila Samsonova won the tournament in 2022 and did well to make it back to the semi-finals this week, but she did not have enough to get past Coco Gauff on Saturday. Gauff rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 victory after one hour and 42 minutes.

In the final Gauff will face Maria Sakkari, who defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Gauff uses return position to combat Samsonova’s serve

Gauff enjoyed an awesome day on serve, striking eight aces without double-faulting while saving all eight of the break points she faced. At the same time, Washington’s No 3 seed also excelled in the return game. She generated 10 break chances against Samsonova and converted three of them. Returning from well behind the baseline — even on second serves — proved to be a successful strategy for Gauff.

“She’s a server and she has an amazing forehand, so I wanted to see how I would do in that battle,” the 19-year-old said of Samosonova. “And I think I did pretty well…. The returning was really vital. She probably has one of the best second serves on tour. You guys saw me; I was returning back on the DC sign (behind the baseline). I hate that, but I had to do it a lot today.”

Gauff, Sakkari will battle for the title

Either Gauff or Sakkari will capture the biggest title of her career on Sunday. Gauff is 3-1 as a professional in championship matches, with her most recent triumph coming earlier this season on the hard courts of Auckland. Sakkari is 1-5 lifetime in WTA finals, having prevailed only at a clay-court event in Rabat, Morocco four years ago.

“Obviously Maria is a great player; she’s been at the top of the game for a long time,” Gauff noted. “It’s going to be a difficult match.”

Earlier in the tournament, Gauff defeated qualifier Hailey Baptiste (6-1, 6-4) and Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic (6-1, 6-2).

Samsonova’s title defense included wins over American wild card Danielle Collins (6-1, 6-3), Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (6-1, 6-3) and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine (6-4, 6-2).

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