Gauff and Anisimova set up all-American semifinal at China Open

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BEIJING (AP) — Defending champion Coco Gauff reached the semifinals of the China Open for the third straight year after beating hard-hitting Eva Lys 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.

The second-seeded American was troubled on her serve and conceded seven break-point chances in Beijing. But Lys, a German player seeking her first career WTA title, could convert only three of them and dropped her own serve five times against the French Open champion.

“She’s a tough opponent, she hit some incredible shots on the run,” said Gauff, who is seeking her 11th career title. “I was trying my best to stay aggressive. Just staying confident in my game and not being too passive.”

Gauff next faces fellow American and third seed Amanda Anisimova, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up. She rallied to beat sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in a tight match lasting nearly three hours.

Paolini raced 3-0 ahead and dominated the tiebreaker.

Anisimova stormed back to go 4-1 up in the second set and clinched it on serve.

In the deciding set, Anisimova was in trouble at 4-3, 40-15 down on serve but made a crucial hold. She served out the match against Paolini, who recently helped Italy retain the Billie Jean King Cup.

It was just their second meeting, four years after Anisimova beat Paolini in straight sets on clay in Palermo, Italy. ___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis