A tactical clash
After an exchange of politeness and breaks, the two women were at 2-2 in the first set and two opposing tactical patterns were emerging. Unsurprisingly, Sabalenka sought to destroy everything in his path and shorten the exchanges as much as possible. Gauff tried to contain her opponent in the center of the court to avoid giving her striking angles, forcing her to always move her legs and annihilating her power.
Gauff betrayed by her service
If Sabalenka, incredibly aggressive from her first strikes, managed to put her game in place, helped by a devastating serve which regularly took Gauff out of the court, it was more complicated for her rival. Especially since Gauff lacked efficiency on serve throughout the match (8 double faults including 5 in his first two service games, 57% of first serves). Deprived of this launching pad, the American has often struggled.
After another break snatched thanks to laser returns, Sabalenka found herself in perfect position and would serve for the match. It was then that she let her emotions overtake her. Suddenly, the Belarusian seemed lost on the court, less destructive. A double fault then gave Gauff a break point. Her return forced Sabalenka to hit a backhand forehand and she saw her ball die in the net. Everything had to be redone.
Gauff too shy, Sabalenka under tension
Gauff had a great opportunity to close the set while leading 6-5, 30-0. But then she was too cautious, too wait-and-see and let her opponent snatch the right to play a tie-break. Once again, Gauff was going to pay dearly for his lack of success in the service. Too neutral in her strikes, not always committed enough, she couldn’t hurt.
At the start of a balanced second set, Sabalenka offered herself the first chances without being able to confirm them. Gauff still couldn’t project herself forward. The three hours of struggle against Kostyuk in the quarter-finals were perhaps weighing on his legs. While she was leading 4-3, 0-30 on Sabalenka’s serve, she was again too timid and let Sabalenka get back to 4-4. Behind, she conceded the break by exploding in the exchange. Gauff was going to save a match point by showing in this point all the aggression and initiative that he had lacked in the match. But on the second, Sabalenka’s serve was a winner.
