Coco Gauff heads to Australian Open with confidence high after Auckland win

BY STEVE MCMORRAN

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff will head to the Australian Open with greater confidence in her form and fitness after beating Elina Svitolina in three sets in the Auckland Classic final.

The third-ranked Gauff became only the fourth player to win back-to-back singles in Auckland, achieving the feat at the age of 19.

Gauff didn’t drop a set on the way to her first Auckland title in 2023 and extended that run to nine matches when she reached Sunday’s final, again without dropping a set.

But she lost the opening set against second-seeded Svitolina and had to work hard to win the match 6-7 (4), 6-3. 6-3 in just under three hours. Previously, she had spent only four hours on court in four matches and had dropped only 15 games on her way through the semifinals.

Her serve, which had been a