Coco Gauff reaches 1st clay final in Parma, faces Wang Qiang

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<p>PARMA, Italy &mdash; Coco Gauff reached her first clay-court final by beating Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 on Friday at the Emilia-Romagna Open.</p>
<p>It’s a second career WTA final for the 17-year-old American, who reached her first semifinal on clay last week at the Italian Open. She is gearing up for the French Open, which starts May 30.</p>
<p>Siniakova eliminated Serena Williams in the second round.</p>
<p>In Saturday’s final, Gauff will face 48th-ranked Wang Qiang, who defeated former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6 (3).</p>
<p>Wang trailed 5-1 in the second set before rallying to close it out.</p>
<p>Gauff is aiming for her second career title, having won her only previous final in Lienz, Austria, in 2019. She improved to 11-3 on clay this year.</p>
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