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 number three and top seed, will defend the title she won a year ago against number two 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. The 19-year-old served 10 aces and struck 26 winners, saying afterwards she knew what would be needed to quell her American compatriot.