Cori Gauff successfully defeated world number 17 Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 in the 2023 Cincinnati Open season final.
This victory led the host tennis player to win the second hard-court tournament title in his career as well as the third title this season. Still only 19 years old, she is now the youngest women’s singles champion in the history of the Cincinnati Open.
After winning titles in Auckland in January and in Washington two weeks ago, the seventh seed is now the first teenager to win three titles in one season since Bianca Andreescu in 2019. She is also the first teenager to win five since Caroline Wozniacki. in the 2009 season.
Since the first Cincinnati Open was held in 2004, the runner-up to the 2022 French Open is now the fourth home tennis player to win the title, joining Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Madison Keys.
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“I’m feeling really good about how I’ve had this week,” said Cori Gauff. “I had a big win the day before and this time too. Karolina, she is not an easy opponent. It’s been amazing to see her back in such stunning form. I think she is one of the most talented tennis players in the tournament.”
With Jessica Pegula winning the title in Montreal last week, it was the first time an American had swept the WTA 1000 titles in Canada and Cincinnati. In addition, it is the first time an American has won consecutive tournament titles at this level since the 2015 season, when Williams won in Cincinnati and her sister Venus won in Wuhan.
Since losing in the first round at Wimbledon this season, the 19-year-old has now won 11 of her last 12 matches and in that time has won the two biggest titles of her career to date.
In the first meeting between the two players, the hosts overcame a shaky start to neutralize Muchova’s attacks in the net area to go 5-1 in the final. With stable performance from the baseline area, he held back the Czech tennis player from producing just four winners in the first set and made 13 unforced errors.
Muchova entered her first career WTA level 1000 final after spending more than 10 hours on court as she finished all the matches leading up to the final in three sets. After competing for 2 hours and 30 minutes against Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, the 26-year-old seemed to be struggling to keep up with Gauff’s energy.
However, Muchova’s fighting power was still visible, including when she secured three match point opportunities. But the effort was not strong enough to stop Gauff from winning after 1 hour 56 minutes.
