Cincinnati finals: Gauff battles her friend Pegula as new Masters champion will be crowned

[h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/?mid=nL3a3dK7"]Gauff vs Pegula - Monday 01:00 CET[/a][/h2][h2]Match news and form[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a] rallied from 3-1 down in the deciding set to win the titanic tussle with defending champion Iga Swiatek, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/swiatek-i-jNyZsXZe/?mid=lfwx3BtC"]7-5, 4-6, 6-4[/a], and end the Pole's 10-match winning streak. It was her third consecutive three-setter in the span of four days, putting her in the Cincinnati final for the second time in three years.[/p][p]With 11 quarter-final or better results this season, Pegula continues to solidify her place in the top-three rankings. She has been the champion in Dubai and Charleston, the semi-finalist at the Australian Open, and more recently, settled for runner-up finishes in Berlin and Washington DC.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a], in contrast to her compatriot, has been having a walk in the park since the first match. Apart from rallying from a set down against Liudmila Samsonova, she has gone on to win the subsequent four matches in straight sets, most recently beating upset artist Sara Bejlek, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bejlek-s-jVCKq0LH/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/?mid=Yijj9Cqp"]6-4, 6-1[/a].[/p][p]Gauff has been having a bittersweet season for the most part and is yet to win a title in this period. Apart from her runner-up finishes in Miami and Rome, the world number four settled for close semi-final losses in her last two tournaments, Wimbledon and Toronto, in the run-up to Cincinnati.[/p][h2]Head-to-head[/h2][p]Pegula leads 5-4, including going 4-1 on hard courts. For what it is worth, Gauff won their latest encounter in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon a few months ago, but only after rallying from a set down.[/p][image alt="Win probability." id="4602c7f0-2ced-4244-bb1c-609afba06598" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="79284540-39d0-4f76-91c1-8d3630cc98e9" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][h2]Stats & facts[/h2][p]Pegula lost to Aryna Sabalenka, 3-6, 5-7, in her only previous final appearance in Cincinnati in 2024.[/p][p]Pegula stands 11-13 in overall career finals (and 4-4 at the WTA 1000 level) and seeks her biggest title on home soil.[/p][p]Gauff vanquished Karolina Muchova, 6-3, 6-4, in her first Cincinnati Open final back in 2023.[/p][p]Gauff has an 11-5 track record in finals but has lost four of her last six championship rounds.[/p][h2]Betting analysis[/h2][p]Needless to say, it is perfectly fine to pick either player as the prospective champion in the clash between the World No. 3 and No. 4. Gauff has the experience of lifting high-profile titles on US soil as opposed to compatriot Pegula and would have the most slender of advantages going in.[/p][embed guid="86728ab8-b30d-4b5f-89a0-d29faf6d2a57" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3eeB-tv61s" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Gauff in 2026[/h2][p][b]Best results:[/b] Rome, Miami (final)[/p][p][b]Best results on outdoor hard courts:[/b] Miami (final)[/p][p][b]Record:[/b] 39-13[/p][p][b]Record in the last 10 matches:[/b] 8-2[/p][p][b]Record on outdoor hard courts:[/b] 24-7[/p][p][b]Record against top-10 players:[/b] 3-5 (career 36-41)[/p][p][b]Record in WTA 1000 finals:[/b] 0-2 (career 3-4)[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 0-2 (career 11-5)[/p][p][b]Grand Slams:[/b] Australian Open (quarter-finals), French Open (round of 32), Wimbledon (semi-finals)[/p][h2]Gauff at the Cincinnati Open[/h2][p][b]Career record:[/b] 13-5[/p][p][b]Best result:[/b] title (2023)[/p][p][b]Last year's result:[/b] quarter-finals[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 1-0[/p][p][b]Preparation:[/b] Toronto (semi-finals)[/p][p][b]Road to the final:[/b] Bye, Samsonova (2-6, 6-4, 6-1), (28) Li (6-1, 7-6), (22) Bouzkova (6-3, 6-2), (10) Kostyuk (6-2, 6-2), Bejlek (6-4, 6-1)[/p][embed guid="0d16808f-9a47-474a-99e1-b20d60d53c73" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_5ag2DYn0" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Pegula in 2026[/h2][p][b]Best results:[/b] Charleston, Dubai (title); Washington, Berlin (final)[/p][p][b]Best results on outdoor hard courts:[/b] Dubai (title); Washington (final)[/p][p][b]Record:[/b] 45-11[/p][p][b]Record in the last 10 matches:[/b] 8-2[/p][p][b]Record on outdoor hard courts:[/b] 29-6[/p][p][b]Record against top-10 players:[/b] 7-5 (career 33-42)[/p][p][b]Record in WTA 1000 finals:[/b] 1-0 (career 4-4)[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 2-2 (career 11-13)[/p][p][b]Grand Slams:[/b] Australian Open (semi-finals), French Open (round of 128), Wimbledon (quarter-finals)[/p][h2]Pegula at the Cincinnati Open[/h2][p][b]Career record:[/b] 17-7[/p][p][b]Best result:[/b] final (2024, 2026)[/p][p][b]Last year's result:[/b] round of 32[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 0-1[/p][p][b]Preparation:[/b] Washington (final), Toronto (round of 16)[/p][p][b]Road to the final:[/b] Bye, Waltert (6-3, 6-2), (25) Navarro (7-5, 6-2), (15) Cirstea (6-2, 4-6, 7-5), (9) Anisimova (6-4, 2-6, 7-6), (7) Swiatek (7-5, 4-6, 6-4)[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/arthur-f-IoIhUqIN/tiafoe-f-AHDLJaph/?mid=zNi1x8bf"]Fils vs Tiafoe - 22:30 CET[/a][/h2][h2]Match news and form[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arthur-fils/IoIhUqIN/"]Arthur Fils[/a] had never previously made a quarter-final during the US Open Series before 2026, but with the improvements he had already shown on North American hard courts during the Sunshine Double in 2025 and 2026, it seemed only a matter of time before he clicked during this phase as well.[/p][p]He has now done exactly that, reaching the quarter-finals in Montreal and looking even better in Cincinnati, where he has reached the final with a series of solid and dominant wins while conceding only one set along the way.[/p][p]The French youngster has done a tremendous job so far to turn what looked like an uncertain season into arguably the best campaign of his career, with still a few months left to play. He missed January due to the injury that had already sidelined him for the second half of 2025, while recurring fitness problems later forced him to miss several important tournaments.[/p][p]Despite all those setbacks, he has won an ATP 500 title in Barcelona, delivered several other big results at high-profile events, and is now just one win away from claiming the biggest title of his career in Cincinnati. He is also guaranteed to achieve a new career-high ranking of at least world No. 12 next week.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiafoe-frances/AHDLJaph/"]Frances Tiafoe[/a] stopped the red-hot Brandon Nakashima in straight sets in the all-American semi-final in Cincinnati to reach the final and secure a highly satisfying result, coming only a few weeks after undergoing minor surgery on his right hand following his retirement at the Montreal Masters.[/p][p]It was extremely important for him to bounce back in time and produce a big result during the US Open Series, as failing to do so during this familiar home stretch could have been a major source of frustration, similar to last year when a disappointing run even forced him to end his season early and make changes to his coaching team.[/p][h2]Head-to-head[/h2][p]Fils leads 1-0. They met at the Miami Masters last year, where Fils negotiated a three-set victory.[/p][image alt="Win probability." id="e8cd0b9d-4156-4e22-a66a-ba1e4236b3ef" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0a8e3863-73dd-491a-9512-670998339887" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][h2]Stats & facts[/h2][p]Fils has played six tour-level title matches in his career and won four of them.[/p][p]Fils has won 13 of his 14 matches against lower-ranked opponents on hard courts this year.[/p][p]Fils is the first French finalist in Cincinnati since Guy Forget won the title here back in 1991.[/p][p]Tiafoe's only previous Masters-level title match also came here in Cincinnati in 2024, when he lost to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.[/p][p]Tiafoe holds a 4-8 record in tour-level title matches during his career.[/p][p]Tiafoe is looking to become the first American to lift the Cincinnati title since Andy Roddick way back in 2006.[/p][h2]Betting analysis[/h2][p]Tiafoe has already exceeded expectations in this campaign by reaching the final just weeks after returning from surgery. While he has shown the ability to produce world-class performances on American hard courts in the past, it is unlikely that he can do so now, especially as his performances in the last two matches have already shown signs of physical strain.[/p][p]His previous opponents were unable to fully capitalise on that, but Fils, with his current form and the consistently high level he has produced match after match, is expected to pounce on any such drop in level and finish the job.[/p][embed guid="128f84e1-3ba8-4d40-81fe-e837885d42b5" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1uq-0bnM5A" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Fils in 2026[/h2][p][b]Best results:[/b] Barcelona (title); Doha (final)[/p][p][b]Best results on outdoor hard courts: [/b]Doha (final)[/p][p][b]Record:[/b] 31-10[/p][p][b]Record in the last 10 matches:[/b] 8-2[/p][p][b]Record on outdoor hard courts:[/b] 19-5[/p][p][b]Record against top-30 players:[/b] 12-8 (career 35-29)[/p][p][b]Record in ATP Masters 1000 finals:[/b] 0-0 (career 0-0)[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 1-1 (career 4-2)[/p][p][b]Grand Slams:[/b] Australian Open (did not play), French Open (did not play), Wimbledon (round of 64)[/p][h2]Fils at the Cincinnati Open[/h2][p][b]Career record:[/b] 6-2[/p][p][b]Best result:[/b] final (2026)[/p][p][b]Last year's result:[/b] did not play[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 0-0[/p][p][b]Preparation:[/b] Washington (round of 32), Montreal (quarter-finals)[/p][p][b]Road to the final:[/b] Bye, Hanfmann (7-6, 6-1), (9) Lehecka (6-1, 6-7, 6-3), (5) De Minaur (6-3, 6-4), Tirante (6-3, 6-2), (7) Cobolli (6-3, 6-4)[/p][embed guid="68a4c443-d98b-40d1-b358-4f5bb3976f9b" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovD4bsNlNVA" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Tiafoe in 2026[/h2][p][b]Best results:[/b] Halle (title); Acapulco (final)[/p][p][b]Best results on outdoor hard courts:[/b] Acapulco (final)[/p][p][b]Record:[/b] 37-15[/p][p][b]Record in the last 10 matches:[/b] 7-3[/p][p][b]Record on outdoor hard courts:[/b] 20-8[/p][p][b]Record against top-30 players:[/b] 10-10 (career 61-98)[/p][p][b]Record in ATP Masters 1000 finals:[/b] 0-0 (career 0-1)[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 1-1 (career 4-8)[/p][p][b]Grand Slams:[/b] Australian Open (round of 32), French Open (round of 16), Wimbledon (round of 32)[/p][h2]Tiafoe at the Cincinnati Open[/h2][p][b]Career record:[/b] 18-9[/p][p][b]Best result:[/b] final (2024, 2026)[/p][p][b]Last year's result:[/b] round of 16[/p][p][b]Record in finals:[/b] 0-1[/p][p][b]Preparation:[/b] Washington (round of 32), Montreal (round of 32)[/p][p][b]Road to the final:[/b] Bye, Sonego (6-3, 6-4), (16) Tien (6-4, 4-6, 6-4), (2) Auger-Aliassime (6-3, 6-4), (10) Musetti (7-6, 7-5), (27) Nakashima (7-5, 6-3)[/p][h2][a href="https://cincinnatiopen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/OP-uploaded-Aug-22-11p.pdf"]Sunday's schedule[/a] | [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/cincinnati/results/"]Women's results[/a] | [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/cincinnati/results/"]Men's results[/a][/h2]