Riyadh (Spain), Nov 4 (NationPress) Defending champion Coco Gauff kept her dreams of reaching the semifinals alive by securing a 6-3, 6-2 win over No.8 seed Jasmine Paolini in a group stage match at the WTA Finals, the year-end championships.

With this victory, Paolini was eliminated from the Stefanie Graf Group, while Gauff holds a 1-1 record and must await the outcome of the later contest between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 5 Jessica Pegula to see what scenarios could lead her to the semifinals.

Prior to the tournament, Paolini faced health issues, which contributed to her lack of energy during the match.

In her initial match, Gauff struggled with 17 double faults and nine breaks, resulting in a three-set loss to Pegula. However, she displayed a much-improved performance against Paolini.

In this match, Gauff committed only three double faults and won 35 of 50 service points, showcasing her precision by winning 15 of 19 second-serve points. This victory marks her 33rd career Top 10 win at such a young age.

Gauff expressed her relief at bouncing back from her earlier performance, stating, “I’m really pleased with how I turned it around. Only three double faults -- 17 is a significant difference. It demonstrates my capability to serve effectively.”

This marks Paolini’s second consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals. Although her singles record stands at 1-4, she and her doubles partner Sara Errani are still contenders as the top seeds in doubles.

Despite Paolini having better recent results, with three wins out of four matches against Gauff earlier this year, Gauff managed to dominate in straight sets during their last encounter at the Wuhan semifinal.

Gauff broke Paolini’s serve right at the start, quickly gaining a 3-0 lead. Although Paolini fought back and had three opportunities to equalize at 4-all, Gauff's resilience allowed her to maintain a firm grip on the match.

In the second set, the match remained on serve until Gauff broke Paolini for the third time in the fifth game, further solidifying her lead.

At just 21, Gauff is the youngest player competing in singles at the tournament. She is set to face World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a crucial round-robin match on Thursday, a contest that could determine her advancement to the semifinals.

Gauff has triumphed in 11 of the 14 finals she has participated in at the Hologic WTA Tour, a statistic that underscores her clutch performance abilities.