- Both players will be contesting only their second Grand Slam singles final
- Cori Gauff leads Aryna Sabalenka 3-2 in their personal series
- Recommended bet: Cori Gauff to beat Aryna Sabalenka

There is a cracking US Open women’s singles final in prospect when Cori Gauff takes on Australian Open champion and second seed Aryna Sabalenka clash for the title at the last Grand Slam of the season.

Sabalenka thwarted an all-American title match in New York City when showing remarkable resilience to pip Madison Keys in the semi-finals,.

Meanwhile, Gauff will hope to achieve a much more positive result than in her first Slam singles final, when she was hammered by Iga Swiatek at last year’s French Open.

The stats

Gauff leads her head-to-head series with Sabalenka 3-2, although it is 2-2 between the pair in terms of previous hard-court meetings.

Sabalenka won their most recent clash 6-4 6-0 on an Indian Wells hard court in March, but their first three meetings on the fast terrain were all closely-fought affairs.

Sabalenka has dropped only one set on the way to reaching the US Open final and that was against Keys, against whom she had to dig deep in their semi-final.

Gauff has lost three sets in this year’s Big Apple Slam, against qualifier Laura Siegemund, Elise Mertens and resurgent former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Gauff, seeded sixth at Flushing Meadows, has won her last 11 matches in a career-best run and 17 of her last 18 singles outings, which has taken in title triumphs in Washington DC and Cincinnati.

Prediction

The second seed is probably edging market leadership due to her higher rank and seeding, but the 19-year-old home hope already enjoys a 3-2 personal series lead over Sabalenka.

True, Sabalenka was an easy 6-4 6-0 victor in their most recent clash, in the Indian Wells quarter-finals in March.

Gauff is playing quite a bit better now than she was in California, as well as being a lot more confident after triumphs in Washington DC and Cincinnati, both important tournaments.

And considering Gauff had already shown that she knows how to beat Sabalenka, emerging victorious in three of their four meetings prior to their Tennis Garden rumble, it is fair to assume that the younger player will go into their sixth meeting in a positive manner.

Not that Gauff is playing at her absolute peak. There is probably plenty more to come from the Atlanta native, who first stole the show in a Slam in the first round of Wimbledon in 2019, when upending Venus Williams in straight sets.

But she is still playing well and, now armed with the belief and confidence that she has what it takes to win matches and titles on a more consistent basis, Gauff has the credentials to silence Sabalenka.

Sabalenka is the one with previous experience of lifting a major trophy, but while she has been installed as only a slight favourite to add to her Melbourne Park crown from the start of the year, it is actually surprising that Gauff is not the market leader.

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