Coco Gauff erases 5-1 deficit to beat Marta Kostyuk at WTA Finals

Coco Gauff overcame a 5-1 deficit and three set points to defeat Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday, keeping her WTA Finals semifinal hopes alive.

In Indian Wells, California, Gauff faced those set points in the seventh game of the second set, then completed her comeback with six consecutive games.

The win left Gauff with a 2-1 round-robin record, though Thursday's final Group 1 match will decide whether she reaches the semifinals. Linda Noskova had already qualified, and a victory over Jessica Pegula would send Gauff through, while a Pegula win would put her in instead.

“I’m not going to lie, [my] head was already in that third set,” Gauff said of being behind 5-1.

“Then once it got to 5-4 I was like, ‘OK, I can win this set.’ I got a little bit lucky. She gave me a few errors. I’m glad I was able to close that out,” she said.

Gauff called a medical timeout in the second set after Kostyuk broke her twice to take a 3-0 lead. She received lower-back treatment and said the tightness affected her serve most, making it difficult to complete the motion without pain.

“Physically, I wasn't at my best, which I'm not really used to,” Gauff told Sky Sports. “It was like a mental challenge, learning how to play through that,” she said.

Gauff said that, trailing 5-2, she had asked her physio how to loosen up in a bathroom break between sets. She won the set, so there was no break.

Gauff said she might not have completed the match had it taken place in the middle of the season. Referring to the winner's prizes, she joked that the prospect of winning five million and a car motivated her to try to win, then said she was kidding and that she only tries to compete.

Gauff recorded nine double faults and one ace.

Kostyuk needed treatment too. In the first set, Gauff dropped serve in the opening game before breaking Kostyuk twice for a 4-2 lead, then holding for 5-2, The Guardian reported. Kostyuk took a medical timeout for her right wrist, then held serve with it taped and broke Gauff as she served for the set, aided by two Gauff double faults. The match took one hour and 39 minutes.

BBC Sport reported that Kostyuk's wrist injury has troubled her since August and restricted the pace and spin she could produce against Gauff.

Ranked 10th, Kostyuk won Madrid and reached the French Open semifinals this season. She joined the eight-woman field as a late alternate when world No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdrew because of a viral illness, but losses to Noskova and Pegula had already eliminated her. Kostyuk was playing Gauff to avoid an 0-3 record and earn an additional $230,000, The Associated Press reported.

Gauff had also erased a 5-1 deficit in her win over Pegula on Sunday, making Thursday her second such comeback at the tournament. Noskova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, defeated Gauff 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.

Gauff, 22, holds the world No. 4 ranking, one place ahead of fellow American Pegula, her friend and frequent doubles partner. Pegula, the 2023 WTA Finals runner-up, faces Noskova for the remaining Group 1 semifinal spot.

Mirra Andreeva has qualified from Group 2, and Friday's play will determine whether Aryna Sabalenka or Elina Svitolina joins her in the semifinals, AFP reported.