Cori Gauff vs Caroline Garcia Prediction: Will this go to the third set?

The WTA Finals are on and we are bound to see some close battles as athletes look to finish the season on a title. This title has a high value considering that the top-eight ranked players are in here and a win here means that the winner is capable of beating the elite competition. Will this be the case when a young Cori Gauff takes on veteran Caroline Garcia?

Gauff comes into the tournament after a Quarter-Final appearance during Guadalajara Open where she lost to Victoria Azarenka in a close three-set battle. During the San Diego Open too, she reached the Quarter-Final, losing to Iga Swiatek in two sets. Her US Open campaign also ended in the Quarter-Final as she lost to Caroline Garcia in two sets. While her Cincinatti Masters campaign ended quickly, she managed to reach the Quarter-Final of Canadian Open, losing to Simona Halep in two sets. Thus, her four of the last five campaigns have seen her make a deep run but she has unable to survive the deep stages.

Still, this has been an impressive year as the US power player has been able to defeat tough opponents like Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Madison Keys, and Karolina Pliskova. It means she is ready for the big stage and at 18 years old, she has already attained the top athlete status. What makes Cori dangerous is her athleticism and her ability to hit powerful strokes. Her forehand isn’t as strong as it needs to be at times and she can prone to double faults, but nonetheless, it is something she can fix. Hey, she has made it this far after all!

French Caroline comes into the tournament after a Round of 16 appearances during Guadalajara Open where she lost to Sloane Stephens in a close game. Her last three appearances ended prematurely but she made huge impressions during US Open, reaching the Semis, and losing to Ons Jabeur. She managed to go up in the rankings in a big way as she won the Cincinnati Masters tournament, beating Petra Kvitova for the title after having beaten Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka, and Maria Sakkari.

Caroline has been a top-five player just a few years ago but she fell out of the rankings after some average play. This has been a great player for the French stalwart who has rediscovered her groove and has shot up in the rankings by defeating elite players. Caroline is yet to win a Grand Slam but she has the ability to go on deep runs and also push her opponents to the brink even if she loses. Unlike Cori, she has a strong forehand.

Garcia and Cori have met thrice and Cori has won two of those battles. However, during their last meeting, Gacia beat Guaff 6-3, 6-4 during the US Open.

The h2h between these two gives Gauff the edge but that is misleading considering Caroline just beat her a few months ago. This can be a close battle and if Gauff plays as cleanly as Caroline, we can see her coming through. Will Gauff be able to keep up against Garcia’s intensity? She has shown she is battle-hardened after overcoming power hitters in long games. I believe this will be a long game too and I’d back Gauff winning in three sets.