Coco Gauff demolished in brutal 58-minute defeat at China Open

Coco Gauff's China Open title defence came to a disappointing end as she suffered a heavy 6-1 6-2 defeat in the semi-finals. Amanda Anisimova needed less than an hour to send the second seed packing, reaching her third career WTA 1000 final. Anisimova has now reached two consecutive finals, finishing runner-up at the recent US Open.

Gauff narrowly avoided getting bagelled in both sets, saving set points while 0-5 down in the opening set, and then breaking back when Anisimova served for the match. But it was still a nightmare day at the office for the reigning champion in Beijing, who hit five double faults.

It was a third career meeting between Gauff and Anisimova, and their first on a hard court. Gauff came out on top in Parma four years ago, while Anisimova got the better of her at Wimbledon in 2022.

Since then, Gauff has gone on to become a two-time Major winner, claiming the US Open title in 2023 and lifting the French Open trophy earlier this year. Anisimova, meanwhile, had enjoyed a breakthrough season.

The 24-year-old picked up her biggest career title at the WTA 1000 in Doha back in February, then reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this summer.

And Anisimova picked up exactly where she left off in Flushing Meadows, storming into another final, this time in Beijing. The world No. 4 was too strong for Gauff, whose serving issues continued to haunt her.

Last year's champion struggled to win points on her own serve and threw in too many double faults. Gauff stepped it up at the end of the first set, saving two set points on her serve to finally get on the board.

She had two break points in the next game, but Anisimova shut the door and took the opening set in just 27 minutes. The No. 3 seed continued her demolition job, racing into a 5-0 lead in the decider and serving for the match.

Again, Gauff raised her level. She broke Anisimova to keep herself alive, and served a lot better to close the gap to 2-5. But it only delayed the inevitable, and Anisimova successfully served out the match at the second time of asking.

Anisimova will now face either Jessica Pegula or Linda Noskova in the championship match. After reaching her first China Open final, she told the crowd: "I was just excited to play here in my first semi-final and I was able to put on a really good performance.

"I knew I was going to have to play really well against Coco if I wanted to get the win. Yeah, I'm excited to be in the final.

"It's super exciting, and I'm super happy to be in my first final here. I've been saying every time that I've walked onto this court and won my match, that I love playing here and the crowd support has been so amazing since the first day I got here.

"I really think that's carried me through this entire tournament and hopefully everyone can come out and support me in the final again."