Cori Gauff World number 7 tennis player won the first title of the 2023 season at the ASB Classic, Auckland in a landslide victory.
The American tennis player appeared dominant when she beat the Spanish tennis player, Rebeka Masarova with a landslide 6-1, 6-1 in the final of the ASB Classic. This title is the first title for an American tennis player since winning at Parma in the 2021 season as well as the first title in a hard-court tournament since she won the first WTA title of her career at Linz in the 2019 season.
The victory in straight sets over the world number 130, Masarova closed the 18-year-old tennis player’s dominant week. He did not drop a single set in all of the five matches he played in the 2023 ASB Classic season and only lost 22 games.
“Honestly, it’s been an amazing week for me despite the rain,” said Gauff. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my season. I got my first hard-court title when I was 15 years old. I feel happy to be successful on a field that I love.”
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Playing as the number one seed in the ASB Classic, the American managed to weather the unforeseen conditions and rain throughout the week after tournament officials were forced to hold matches indoors to avoid disrupting the schedule.
But rain delayed the final as the top seed set to face Masarova who is appearing in the WTA final for the first time in her career after an astonishing week. After going through the qualifying rounds, the 23-year-old tennis player beat the second seeds, Sloane Stephens and Karolina Muchova on her way to meet the first seed for the first time.
The American tennis players showed their quality and experience from the start of the match. After rain delayed the start of the final, the American stepped on the gas and snatched a 5-1 lead before the rain returned as she served on a set point opportunity.
But the brief distraction wasn’t enough to halt Gauff’s advance. When both players returned to court, the first seed calmly took the first set and made no false moves in the second. Masarova had the chance to put the pressure on the American by creating five break point opportunities in the sixth game, but the American saved all of them before sealing the title.
The two tennis players will now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open. Masarova must return to qualifying, while the American will train to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the 2023 season.
“This win gives me a lot of confidence. You never know how your first week will be. It can go well or badly. But I think this week has been a great week for both of us,” said Cori Gauff.
