Dubai hosts 'Battle of the sexes' 3.0

All to play for

It will be all to play for in the SteffiGraf Group on Thursday, with Sabalenka, Gauff and Pegula all still in contention for semifinal tickets.

In her opener against Pegula on Sunday, Gauff struggled with her serve, committing 17 double faults and winning just 28 percent of the points behind her second delivery.

Her performance in the first set of her second match was already a significant improvement, as she won nine of 11 points on her second serve, misfiring just twice for two double faults.

The 21-year-old leaped to a 3-0 lead and, despite Paolini's attempted comeback, was able to reclaim her advantage to take the opening set in 40 minutes.

The second set was a straightforward affair, as Gauff notched two breaks of serve en route to her second win in five meetings with the Italian this season.

"I think only three doubles today compared to 17 — that's a big difference," said the two-time grand slam champion.

"I think it just shows that I have the ability to serve like this, and it definitely gives me confidence."

Gauff hired biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan in late August, right before the US Open, to help fix technical issues with her serve.

She said her approach after her opening defeat was to go "back to the basics and try not to overcomplicate things".

"I think I was on the trajectory in China, serving great. I think I was, maybe, trying to serve a little bit too hard in that match against Jess," Gauff said.

"So, today, I just tried to slow it down and start with that approach first, and, obviously, if I had to go bigger, I had the ability to do that."

AGENCIES