Gauff, Svitolina to clash in Auckland final

Coco Gauff

US Open champion Coco Gauff maintained her imperious form in the lead-up to the Australia Open by dismantling Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Auckland Classic on Saturday.

Gauff, World No. 3 and top seed, will defend the title she won a year ago against No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina, who defied a back injury to beat Wang Xiyu.

The Ukrainian needed two medical timeouts before fighting back to beat her unseeded Chinese opponent 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Gauff will be the fresher of the two finalists having not dropped a set all week and racing past fourth seed Navarro in a display that highlighted all her attacking weapons.

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