WTA Finals Riyadh—Saudi Arabia
US Open winner Coco Gauff sealed a sensation week of action at the the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, defeating Olympic Gold Medalist Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) to claim the title.
In an entertaining baseline clash that lasted three hours and four minutes, Gauff hit five aces, won 70 percent of her first serve points and broke her Chineses opponent on five occasions.
Dismissing top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, Gauff has won three titles on the year and nine in total. The 20-year-old will end the year ranked No. 3 in the world.
Zheng, who has had a memorable year on Tour, not only captured the Olympic Gold in Paris, France, but also won titles in Tokyo, Japan and Palermo, Italy.
The 22-year-old also made the finals of the Australian Open in January, and the finals in Wuhan, China in October.
Zheng will end 2024 ranked No. 5.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will finish the season as the top two players in the world.
*****
Belgrade Open—Serbia
Canadian Denis Shapovalov won his second career title on the ATP Tour on Saturday, dismissing home-country favourite Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4.
Using his powerful serve and backhand to great effect, Shapovalov hit 13 aces, broke serve on two occasions and won 82 percent of his first serve points.
Improving to 26-22 on the year, Shapovalov will end 2024 ranked No. 56 in the world.
Medjedovic, who was playing in his first-career final, will move up to No. 109 on Monday. The 21-year-old entered the event with a 6-7 Tour record on the season.
All-time Major leader Novak Djokovic was on hand to present the winner’s trophy to Shapovalov.
*****
Moselle Open—Metz, France
Former BNP Paribas Open winner Cameron Norrie failed to capture the sixth title of his career on Saturday in Metz, France, losing to local favourite Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(6), 6-4.
Using the home crowd to pull out the victory, Bonzi struck 10 aces, won 75 percent of his first serve points and broke his British opponent on two occasions.
Bonzi, who was playing in his third career final, improved to 1-2 in championship matches. The 28-year-old has had a career ranking of No. 42 in the world and will move up to No. 77 after this week’s performance.
He defeated No. 2 seed Casper Ruud and No. 8 seed Alex Michelsen en-route to the title.
Norrie, now 29-years-old, will finish 2024 ranked No. 50.
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