Defending champion Gauff downs Navarro to reach Auckland final

BRISBANE :Top seed Coco Gauff will continue her defence of the Auckland Classic title in Sunday's final after the U.S Open champion brushed aside fellow American Emma Navarro 6-3 6-1 in the Australian Open warm-up tournament on Saturday.

The world number three made light work of Navarro to reach the title clash where she will meet Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.

"Definitely a good start to my 2024, Emma's an incredible player," Gauff said. "I wanted to be aggressive in my serve and return; we played a practice set before the tournament started and she was playing really well.

"I knew I had to be at my best if I wanted to win."

Gauff made a commanding start and held a 4-2 lead in the opening set when rain, which has fallen regularly throughout the tournament, briefly stopped play.

The 19-year-old American continued her strong showing, extending her lead upon the players' return to the court and eventually winning the first set with few concerns.

Gauff then tightened her grip when she broke her compatriot's serve in the opening game of the second set and consolidated that lead further after a Navarro mishit in the fifth game that gave her an unassailable lead.

Svitolina managed a lower back issue and rallied from a set down to beat China's Wang Xiyu 2-6 6-4 6-3.

At the Brisbane International, world number four Elena Rybakina downed Czech teen Linda Noskova 6-3 6-2 to reach the final, where she could face Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of their Melbourne Park title clash.

The second-ranked Sabalenka plays fellow Belarusian and double Brisbane champion Victoria Azarenka in the other semi-final later.

"I'll watch a bit of their match and try to do my best tomorrow," said Rybakina, who reached her 15th career singles