Coco Gauff maintained her cool in a hard-fought three-set final triumph over Elina Svitolina on Sunday, successfully retaining her Auckland Classic title and setting the tone for the forthcoming Australian Open.
The top-seeded American, ranked third in the globe, demonstrated her resilience by completing a comeback to defeat the Ukrainian second seed 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3.
Svitolina's participation was in doubt after she struggled in her previous semi-final encounter.Svitolina offered a difficult challenge to the US Open Champion,
handing Gauff her first set loss in two tournaments staged in New Zealand's capital, and particularly tested the 2023 Auckland victor throughout the tight final.
Gauff, 19, was drawn into a tremendous baseline duel with the world number 25, who showed no signs of the back and ankle ailments that plagued her in the three-set semi-final victory over China's Wang Xiyu.
"I'd like to congratulate Elina on an incredible week," Gauff said ahead of her trip to Melbourne for the year's first Grand Slam, which begins in seven days.
"Being a mother and returning so quickly and at such a high level is pretty inspiring." Hopefully, not anytime soon, I'll be able to do it as well as you."