Coco Gauff clinched her second title of the season with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win over Karolina Muchova in the China Open final on Sunday.
At 20, the world No. 6 became the youngest China Open champion in 14 years and the second American to win in Beijing, following Serena Williams' victories in 2004 and 2013.
This marked Gauff's eighth career title, improving her finals record to 8-1. Remarkably, she remains undefeated in hard-court finals with a 7-0 record, a first in the Open era.
Gauff, who defended her Auckland title earlier this year, dominated from the start, securing the first set in just 31 minutes. She dropped only five points on her first serve, hit 24 winners, and broke Muchova five times.
Her victory in Beijing boosts her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals for the third consecutive year. With this title, she will surpass Jessica Pegula to claim the No. 5 ranking ahead of the Wuhan Open, the final WTA 1000 event of the season.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner rallied from a set down to beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the Shanghai Masters.
A night after winning his 250th career match, the 23-year-old Italian faced a tougher test against the No. 37-ranked Argentine under the roof at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena due to rain.
Sinner will next face either No. 16-ranked Ben Shelton, who beat him here last year, or Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena.
Etcheverry delivered the shot of the night with a stunning drop volley to secure set point in the first-set tiebreak, which he converted to take the lead.
Sinner found his rhythm in the second set and, after trading breaks midway through, seized another opportunity to level the match.
The momentum was firmly with Sinner in the third set as he broke Etcheverry twice more to advance in 2 hours, 39 minutes. Play was restricted to the main court due to rain, with all outside court matches postponed to Monday.
"It was a very tough match, physically and mentally, so I am very happy to get through this one,” Sinner said. He is chasing his seventh title of the year.
Fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev also fought back from a set down to defeat Matteo Arnaldi 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and advance to the fourth round, where he will face either No. 12-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexandre Muller.
Medvedev, 28, had to dig deep to level the match after the Italian took the tight first set.
In the deciding set, Medvedev’s experience shone through as he secured a key break in the ninth game and held on to close out the match in 2 hours, 44 minutes.
Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off winning the China Open on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, defeated Wu Yibing 7-6 (5), 6-3.
