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

Coco Gauff knocked off Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets to wrap up WTA semifinal action on Saturday evening. Gauff will face Greek Maria Sakkari in the title match

Imago/Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

August 6, 2023

Mubadala Citi DC Open •Semi-final • completed

See draw

C. GauffvsL. Samsonova

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).