Gauff, Fils win Cincinnati tennis titles in run-up to US Open

Gauff beat Pegula for her second Cincinnati Open trophy and Fils overcame Tiafoe for his first Masters 1000 title.Coco Gauff has defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 6-4, to capture her second women’s Cincinnati Open title as she looks ahead to the US Open starting in New York next week.Arthur Fils of France overcame American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, in the men’s final for his first Masters 1000 title, with Sunday’s decider marking the first time two Black players competed in an ATP Masters 1000 final.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Nordic nations ‘have lost confidence in Infantino’, demand FIFA reformslist 2 of 4Real Madrid’s Mourinho condemns bullying of Vinicius after La Liga winlist 3 of 4Squad, formation, unrest: Key talking points ahead of Chelsea’s new seasonlist 4 of 4Raphinha and Lopez score braces as Barcelona trounce Elche 5-0end of listGauff, who won the 2023 title beating Karolina Muchova and then went on to win her first Grand Slam at the US Open, stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first set before winning it 6-2. Pegula battled back to 5-4 in the second before Gauff closed out the win. Gauff won five of six break points.The last time two American women played in the Cincinnati final was in 1970, when Rosie Casals beat Nancy Richey.Pegula’s best finish in Cincinnati came in 2024, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.In Saturday’s semifinals, Pegula beat defending champion Iga Swiatek and Gauff defeated Sara Bejlek to set up the first all-American women’s final at the Cincinnati Open in 56 years.“I think it was a long journey, but I’m happy,” Gauff said after the match. “I think it’s night and day, the player I was last year to now. I don’t think that this is an indicator that I’m going to do well in New York. Just knowing the quality ones that I had this week, hopefully I can use that experience.”Gauff had five wins in straight sets in Cincinnati.“I thought she just played at a really high level and didn’t really have many dips,” Pegula said.