Gauff Defeats Swiatek in Straight Sets to Reach Semifinals of WTA Finals in Riyadh

 US' Coco Gauff reacts after winning a point from Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Riyadh on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
US' Coco Gauff reacts after winning a point from Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Riyadh on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Gauff Defeats Swiatek in Straight Sets to Reach Semifinals of WTA Finals in Riyadh

 US' Coco Gauff reacts after winning a point from Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Riyadh on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
US' Coco Gauff reacts after winning a point from Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Riyadh on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Coco Gauff earned her second career win over Iga Swiatek on Tuesday, winning 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the WTA Finals.

It was Gauff’s first victory over Swiatek since the 2023 Cincinnati Open. The result snapped Swiatek's six-match win streak at the finals.

The win moved Gauff to 2-0 in the Orange Group, while Swiatek fell to 1-1. Swiatek had rallied to beat Barbora Krejcikova in three sets on Sunday in her first match in two months.

Krejcikova, the Wimbledon champion, kept her chances of advancing alive with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jessica Pegula.

The result eliminated Pegula, who lost in straight sets to Gauff in their opening match in Saudi Arabia.

Krejcikova was the last player to qualify for the year-ending tournament for the top eight players on tour. She became the lowest-ranked player to win a WTA Finals match since Magda Maleeva 22 years ago.



Neale Fraser, Australia's Long-time Davis Cup Captain, Dies at 91

FILE - Ashley Cooper, left, holds the winner's trophy and poses with Neale Fraser after winning the men's singles championship in Wimbledon, July 4, 1958. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Ashley Cooper, left, holds the winner's trophy and poses with Neale Fraser after winning the men's singles championship in Wimbledon, July 4, 1958. (AP Photo, File)
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Neale Fraser, Australia's Long-time Davis Cup Captain, Dies at 91

FILE - Ashley Cooper, left, holds the winner's trophy and poses with Neale Fraser after winning the men's singles championship in Wimbledon, July 4, 1958. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - Ashley Cooper, left, holds the winner's trophy and poses with Neale Fraser after winning the men's singles championship in Wimbledon, July 4, 1958. (AP Photo, File)

Neale Fraser, who won three Grand Slam singles titles and guided Australia to four Davis Cup titles during a 24-year career as team captain, has died at 91.

Tennis Australia released a statement Tuesday saying the sport “has lost one of its giants.”

Fraser beat Australian tennis great Rod Laver to win Wimbledon in 1960, in between sweeps at the US Open where he won the singles, men’s doubles and mixed titles in 1959 and ’60. He won 11 major men's doubles titles, including at least two at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

He helped Australia win four consecutive Davis Cup titles as a player and rejected lucrative offers to turn professional in a bid to succeed Harry Hopman as the national team captain, The Associated Press reported.
“That ambition was fulfilled in 1970 and he remained in the position until 1993, helming 24 Davis Cup campaigns during which Australia won the title four times,” Tennis Australia said. “Generations of players were inspired by his leadership including John Newcombe, John Fitzgerald and Pat Cash.”
Fraser was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984. In 2008 Fraser was awarded the International Tennis Federation's Philippe Chatrier Award for outstanding achievement in the sport.