American star Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-2 in their opening match at the 2024 WTA Finals on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The victory lifts the World No. 3 Gauff into first place in the Orange Group, ahead of Iga Swiatek (1-0) and Barbora Krejcikova (0-1).
Gauff entered the match as the third seed with a record of 48-15 and two singles titles. Pegula was the sixth with a record of 38-13 with two singles titles this year. The two friends played alongside each other as doubles teammates during the 2024 Paris Olympics. But now Coco Gauff took home a great win over her compatriot. With today’s victory, Coco Gauff also achieved several things.
Great Achievements For Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff Had a strong start in the WTA Finals group stage. The 20-year-old got her biggest win in a year. Her victory over the World No. 6 Jessica Pegula was her biggest win since beating Marketa Vondrousova at last year’s WTA Finals. Gauff also snapped Pegula’s 14-match winning streak against fellow Americans. Pegula hadn’t lost to a compatriot since falling to Madison Keys at last year’s US Open.
Gauff also ended her three-match losing streak against Pegula and is now 2-4 in their head-to-head matchups. Pegula had beaten Gauff in the last three times they played, including in the semifinals of the WTA Finals last year. Last but not least, it was the 20th Top 10 win of Coco Gauff’s career. She recorded the first top-10 win of her career five years ago at the indoor event in Linz. As a 15-year-old, Gauff defeated a No. 8 ranked Kiki Bertens en route to her first WTA title there.
Better Performances For Gauff
Despite enjoying a better season and a higher ranking, Coco Gauff has struggled with Jessica Pegula in the past. However, Gauff has played at a much higher level since the US Open. She had much better statistics against Pegula, hitting two aces and two double faults.
Gauff and Pegula have something in common this season. They both changed coaches. Pegula parted ways with David Witt after the Australian Open and hired Mark Knowles. Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert split following the US Open and she hired Matt Daly. Gauff started to get better with elements of her game since teaming up with Daly. Although she was still struggling with her serves in her last competitive outing before Riyadh, Coco Gauff showed a better performance against Pegula on Sunday. Not only hitting two double faults, she also dropped serve just twice on three break points.
Next, Gauff Will Face Swiatek
After claiming her first win, Coco Gauff will now face Iga Swiatek in her next group stage on Tuesday while Jessica Pegula takes on Barbora Krejcikova. Swiatek claimed a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Krejcikova. The World No. 2 Swiatek had not played since a quarterfinal exit to Jessica Pegula at the US Open in September. The rust showed as she was broken in the opening game of the first two sets. Swiatek was playing her first match under new coach Wim Fisette after splitting with Tomasz Wiktorowski earlier this month.
The players in the Purple Group are back in action on Monday. Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng, both still seeking their first victory at this year’s tournament, meet in the first scheduled match. It is then the battle of the opening-day winners, Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini.
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