The showpiece match of the women’s singles in Washington has been reached. It is the third seed Coco Gauff taking on the fourth seed Maria Sakkari for the title. The women’s matches have been of outstanding quality throughout the tournament, and have fully justified the decision to have it as a joint tournament for the ATP and WTA. Let’s hope the best match has been left for the final showdown. Which player do you think will win the WTA Washington final and take home the trophy?
WTA Washington Final Prediction
Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari
Head-to-head: Gauff 1-1 Sakkari
Sakkari finally broke her curse in semifinals this season. Her win against Jessica Pegula ended a run of six consecutive semifinal defeats this year. And she did it in phenomenal style, playing one of the best quality sets on the WTA tour this season to beat Pegula 6-2 in the final set. The Greek reminded the tennis world what she is capable of after some of the difficulties she has faced. Sakkari is one of the strongest ball strikers in the game, and is hard for almost anyone to stop when she finds her range. Especially on a fast court like in Washington.
Gauff was also excellent in her semifinal. She swept aside defending WTA Washington champion Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets 6-3 6-3. The American did a superb job neutralising the formidable serve of Samsonova on the relatively fast conditions in Washington. Gauff used her superior athleticism to her advantage on the fast court, with Samsonova repeatedly struggling to get back into the right position.
Sakkari faces a very different challenge from Gauff. Pegula is not as athletic or hard hitting as some of the other players near the top of the women’s game, and relies heavily on her impressive hand-eye coordination. By contrast Gauff is one of the best movers on the WTA tour, and also has a little extra power to her groundstrokes. This contest is likely to come down to whether Sakkari can consistently use the fast conditions to consistently break the defence of Gauff. The 28-year-old will need to hold her nerve in big moments when Gauff makes her play an extra shot.
This is a hard one to call. Most will likely give a slight advantage to Gauff in home conditions. But Sakkari may actually have a very slight edge on a quick court in this specific matchup. Gauff is usually slightly more consistent, meaning Sakkari needs to try and hit her off the court. The 2021 French Open semifinalist has been terrific all week and will have momentum after finally breaking her semifinal woes. Sakkari to narrowly win the WTA Washington trophy, and take home her first title since 2019.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
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Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
