After a strong run at the China Open, Coco Gauff’s campaign in Beijing came crashing down on Saturday. The second-seeded Gauff met third-seeded Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals and suffered one of her worst defeats of the season.
Anisimova defeated Gauff in straight sets: 6-1, 6-2. Gauff’s rough showing was partially due to her ongoing serve issues and Anisimova’s growing dominance over the sport.
Gauff tallied two aces and five double faults, landing just 38% of her first serves. Anisimova further capitalized by breaking Gauff in 5/8 opportunities.
“She played well,” said Gauff in her post-match press conference. “I felt like I couldn’t really have a chance of getting a rhythm out there. But a learning experience for the next time.”
Gauff proceeded to heap praise upon Anisimova and liken her to the best player in the sport. “I mean, she’s definitely one of the best out of those I’ve played. Yeah, for sure, she and Aryna [Sabalenka] are tough when they’re playing that level of tennis.”
As for her own game, Gauff was confused by her poor showing. “I felt like today, no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get into the match. So yeah, I’m going to take this and learn from it.”
After rattling off four straight wins in Beijing, Gauff felt confident entering the match. “I felt pretty good going out there today. I don’t know, I was practicing great. I just went on court, and she completely took over.”
Gauff concluded, “So yeah, I think there’s a lot of learning experiences. I know what I need to do against players like her in the future. Now it’s all about going back to practice and trying to implement those things.”
After today’s victory, Anisimova improves to 44-16 on the year. She will face Linda Noskova in the final. It will be Anisimova’s fifth finals match of 2025.
Meanwhile, Gauff falls to 42-14 and will prepare for the Wuhan Open, where the main draw begins on Monday, October 6.
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