Coco Gauff powered into the Miami Open final on Thursday with one of her sharpest performances of the tournament, overwhelming Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1 in a semifinal that turned decisively one-sided almost from the first point at Hard Rock Stadium. The win sent the 21-year-old American into her first Miami Open final and put her one match away from a home-soil title at one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar.
Muchova struck first with an early service break, but Gauff took control almost immediately and never relinquished it. She reeled off the rest of the opening set’s games, then kept the pressure relentless in the second with clinical returning and three more breaks of serve. The victory — achieved in just 58 minutes — also extended Gauff’s perfect head-to-head record against the Czech veteran to 6-0, reinforcing what has become a lopsided matchup in the American’s favor.
“She was just playing at a different level today,” said one courtside observer, capturing the consensus reaction to a performance that produced one of the tournament’s most convincing scorelines.
Sabalenka Sets Up Dream Final
Gauff’s path to the final was confirmed when world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-3 in the other women’s semifinal. Sabalenka handled proceedings with authority throughout, capitalizing on Rybakina’s errors in the opening set and then storming to a 4-0 lead in the second from which there was no coming back. The win took 1 hour and 19 minutes and sent Sabalenka into a second consecutive Miami Open final — and extended her strong run following her Indian Wells title earlier this month.
Saturday’s women’s championship therefore delivers one of the strongest possible matchups of the week: a red-hot American crowd favorite against the top-ranked player in the world. The pair will meet for the 13th time in their careers, with the head-to-head standing at a dead-even 6-6 heading into the final. Their rivalry adds extra weight to proceedings — Gauff has beaten Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final before, while Sabalenka took their most recent meeting at the WTA Finals.
Sinner and Zverev Set For Blockbuster Semi-Final
On the men’s side, Thursday belonged to the two top European seeds as they swept into the semifinals without dropping a set. Second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy was utterly ruthless against American Frances Tiafoe, dismissing him 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour on the Hard Rock Stadium courts. The world No. 2 will now face third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany in a Friday semifinal that could well preview the title match itself.
Zverev was equally businesslike, routing 18th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-1, 6-2 in the other quarterfinal. Cerundolo had enjoyed a fine run in the draw — including an earlier upset win — but was unable to match the German’s precision. His exit ended the deepest Latin American singles run at this year’s Miami Open.
Looking Ahead
The tournament continues Friday with the remaining doubles semifinals and the Sinner–Zverev men’s singles showdown, setting up a final weekend bookended by Saturday’s women’s championship between Gauff and Sabalenka.
For Gauff, the narrative is already written: a dominant American star, playing in front of a home crowd, one win away from the biggest title of her career outside the Grand Slams. Sabalenka arrives carrying the form of the world’s best player and seeking to add Miami to her Indian Wells crown — the fabled Sunshine Double that has eluded so many great champions.
The Miami Open runs through Sunday, March 29.
