Coco Gauff is aiming for her second career title, having won her only previous final in Lienz, Austria, in 2019.   -  REUTERS

Coco Gauff reached her first clay-court final by beating Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 on Friday at the Emilia-Romagna Open.

It will be a second career WTA final for the 17-year-old American, who reached her first semifinal on clay last week at the Italian Open. She is gearing up for the French Open, which starts May 30.

In Saturday’s final, Gauff will face 48th-ranked Wang Qiang, who defeated former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6 (3). Wang trailed 5-1 in the second set before rallying to close it out.

Gauff is aiming for her second career title, having won her only previous final in Lienz, Austria, in 2019. She improved to 11-3 on clay this year.