Gauff reaches first Cincinnati final in three years to set up all-American showdown with Pegula
Coco Gauff eased past Sara Bejlek (6-4, 6-1) to reach her first Cincinnati final since her 2023 title run, setting up an all-American showdown with Jessica Pegula.
Coco Gauff, Cincinnati 2026 | © Jared Wickerham/Wick Photography for Cincinnati Open
American Coco Gauff, the No 4 seed, defeated Czech Sara Bejlek 6-4, 6-1, to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday night.
Gauff broke serve six times from seven chances, while Bejlek converted just one of three break points against a Gauff service game that dropped only twice. The American finished with 60 points won against 38.
Gauff will face American Jessica Pegula, the No 3 seed, in the final. Pegula leads their head-to-head 5-4, but Gauff won their most recent meeting, at Wimbledon. It sets up a clash between the world No. 3 and world No. 4, the two highest-ranked American women. Told that three Americans would be in Monday’s finals, Gauff joked: “It’s great to see the men catch up. I’m just kidding, I’m kidding.” Was she?
Asked about her game plan against the 20-year-old Bejlek, Gauff politely refused to give a clue: “She’s 20. I’m 22. We’re gonna play each other in the future, so…”
Bejlek’s run to the final was built on a string of statement wins over the week’s biggest names. Ranked No 35, she had beaten the Grand Slam winners, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, 7-6 (7), 6-4, American Madison Keys, the No 20 seed, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), No 23 seed Barbora Krejcikova 7-6 (5), 6-4, and also Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 16 seed, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 and Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2.
Gauff’s path was the more comfortable of the two, dropping just one set all week. She reached this stage by beating Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 10 seed, 6-2, 6-2, Czech Marie Bouzkova, the No 22 seed, 6-3, 6-2, No 28 seed Ann Li 6-1, 7-6 (3), and Russian Liudmila Samsonova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
