Coco Gauff held her nerve to beat Elina Svitolina in a gruelling three-set final of the Auckland Classic on Sunday to defend her title and fire an Australian Open warning shot.
The top-seeded Gauff showcased her grit by fighting back from a set down to win 6-7 (7/4), 6-3, 6-3 against the Ukranian second seed, who was in doubt to even play the match after limping through her semi-final the night before.
Instead Svitolina fully-tested the US Open Champion, a new experience in New Zealand for Gauff, who clinched last year's title without dropping a set and looked set to repeat that feat after strolling through her first four matches.
Instead the 19-year-old was drawn into a thunderous baseline slogfest against the world number 31, who showed no sign of the back and ankle injuries that plagued her in the taxing three-set semi-final win over China's Wang Xiyu on Saturday.
Perhaps because of her lighter workload through the week, Gauff finished stronger, snaring the only break of the final set in the eighth game.
She served out to pick up an eighth career title and the first since her maiden Grand Slam triumph in New York in September.
It was also the first time she has defended a title, something she said was the main motivation for returning to Auckland.
Svitolina, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist and chasing an 18th WTA title, showed no sign of the gruelling nature of her week in the first set, twice breaking straight back after dropping serve before clinching the tiebreak.
Gauff broke serve on the first game of the second set but didn't have an easy ride before squaring the match at one set all.
She discovered her rhythm in the third set, removing some of the wayward ground strokes that dogged her earlier in the match.
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