Emilia-Romagna Open: Coco Gauff battles past Katerina Siniakova to set up summit clash with Wang Qiang

Parma: American teenager Coco Gauff battled past Katerina Siniakova in three sets on Friday to set up a meeting with China's Wang Qiang in the final of the WTA tournament in Parma.

Third seed Gauff won through 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 against 68th-ranked Siniakova in just over two hours to reach the second final of her career after Linz which she won in 2019.

Wang, seeded sixth, came from 1-5 down in the second set and saved three set points against American Sloane Stephens for a 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) win in 1hr 46min.

For 17-year-old Gauff and Wang, 29, it will be a first meeting and also a first final for both on clay a week before the French Open in Roland Garros.

A hard-fought comeback from 5-1 down! 👊

🇨🇳 Wang gets the win over Sloane Stephens to book a spot in the Parma final, her first time back in a final since 2018.#EmiliaRomagnaOpen pic.twitter.com/EtIuJvqs2s

— wta (@WTA) May 21, 2021

Gauff reached a career-high world number 30 after her run to the semi-finals of the Italian Open in Rome last week where she was eliminated by eventual winner Iga Swiatek of Poland.

Wang has hit form this week after a poor start to 2021, and is looking for her third WTA title, and first outside China, since late 2018.