Gauff’s US Open title defence ended within the fourth spherical in September however, after parting with coach Brad Gilbert, she instantly bounced again by claiming the China Open title.
The serve that allow her down so badly in New York appeared sharper towards Pegula, with the 20-year-old hitting two aces to simply two double faults.
Her forehand, arguably her greatest weak spot, was nonetheless error-prone towards Pegula, however Gauff was extra stable all through.
She broke to go 4-2 up after which calmly served out the primary set, wrapping it up with a forehand winner.
Pegula struggled for consistency towards her good pal, usually following up a well-constructed level with an uncharacteristic miss.
She was damaged within the first sport of the second set and whacked her racquet to the ground in frustration, however that appeared to reset her as she broke again from 40-0 down.
Nevertheless, 4 unforced errors in a row from Pegula handed Gauff the break again, and the youthful American promptly received 4 video games in a row to clinch victory.
“Generally it was sloppy, typically it was nice – however that is tennis,” mentioned Gauff.