Top seeds Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff will face off in the Auckland Classic final

<p>In the lead-up to the Australia Open, US Open winner Coco Gauff continued her dominant play by crushing Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in the Auckland Classic semifinals on Saturday.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-341958″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin-750×422.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com top seeds elina svitolina and coco gauff will face off in the auckland classic fin” width=”812″ height=”457″ title=”Top seeds Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff will face off in the Auckland Classic final 3″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin-750×422.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin-768×432.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin-390×220.jpg 390w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin-150×84.jpg 150w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/theindiaprint.com-top-seeds-elina-svitolina-and-coco-gauff-will-face-off-in-the-auckland-classic-fin.jpg 980w” sizes=”(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px” /></p>
<p>Gauff, ranked third in the world and the top seed, will take against Elina Svitolina, ranked second, who overcame a back injury to defeat Wang Xiyu, to defend the championship she won a year ago. After two medical breaks, the Ukrainian battled back to defeat her unseeded Chinese opponent 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Having not lost a set all week and easily defeating Navarro, the fourth seed, in a performance that showcased all of her attacking tools, Gauff will be the younger of the two finals. The 19-year-old said later that she understood what would be required to silence her American colleague after serving 10 aces and hitting 26 wins.</p>
<p>“Just being aggressive, with my serve and my return,” she said.</p>
<p>She was playing pretty well during our practice set before the event began, so I knew I had to play my best if I wanted to win.</p>
<p>“It’s undoubtedly a positive beginning for my 2024. Emma is a fantastic athlete.”</p>
<p>It took until 11 p.m. on Friday for Svitolina to defeat Marie Bouzkova in the quarterfinals. She had to get treatment for a lower back ailment 20 minutes into the match.</p>
<p>After winning the second set, the 29-year-old immediately took another break before coming out to play some of her greatest tennis in the dying moments.</p>
<p>Svitolina, who defeated this week’s Grand Slam champions Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu, said that she would have to step up her game to defeat Gauff.</p>
<p>“I had really tough matches in the first three rounds and after a late finish last night I went to bed at 2am, so it was not easy,” she said.</p>
<p>“The second set was incredibly difficult, but I persevered through it. I had fun as if there was no tomorrow.</p>
<p>Svitolina, ranked number 25 in the world, required ankle surgery on her right side during the second set and has advanced to three Grand Slam semifinals.</p>