COCO GAUFF, the top seed at the ASB Classic in Auckland, battled her way to successfully defending her crown on Sunday in a warm-up for the Australian Open.

The tenacious teenager was involved in a breath-taking clash with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina to secure a 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 triumph in 155 minutes.

An intriguing opening set had spectators at the hard court WTA 250 event in New Zealand on the edge of their seats in a topsy-turvy match.

Gauff’s ferocious forehand winner saw her take a break for a deserved 5-3 lead. Svitolina then hit a purple patch, saving two set points to force a tiebreak.

The Ukrainian, who seemed to have hit cruise control, soared into a 6-2 tiebreak lead. But a couple of blips, twice dropping set points, gave Gauff a fighting chance.

Svitolina took first blood to end Gauff’s remarkable 18-set winning streak at the tournament, which stretched back to last year’s title run.

Yet Gauff bounced back with aplomb as she broke her opponent twice for a comfortable 5-2 lead, then easily sealed the set to level matters.

A tense decisive set ensued, with Gauff taking the first break in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. Serving for the title, the 19-year-old saved a break point and made no mistake with thunderous shots to make it back-to-back crowns in Auckland.

This victory made it ten wins on the bounce at the ASB Classic for the US Open champion, and avenged her 2021 Australian Open defeat to Svitolina in their only previous meeting.

For Svitolina, who returned to the circuit in May following maternity leave, this was only her fourth career loss in 21 WTA Tour singles finals and a hard-fought contest.

Gauff, who scooped her seventh WTA Tour singles crown with her 29th triumph in her past 33 matches on the circuit, admitted: “I’m really happy with how I managed to play today, but level-wise it was definitely not my best match or best level this week.

“When you win when you’re not playing your best, it makes you feel more satisfied.”