French Open champion Coco Gauff put in a stuttering performance but secured victory over Jasmine Paolini to reach the final of the Wuhan Open.

The 21-year-old beat the seventh seed from Italy 6-4 6-3 in a match featuring 11 breaks of serve in a row to reach her first final since her win at Roland Garros in June.

Gauff may have won in straight sets but struggled on serve, being broken five times and serving seven double faults – with Paolini actually winning more points in the match.

Gauff will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Jessica Pegula in the final.

“I’m really happy with how I played today. It was tough, especially playing on the serve, but I did what I needed to do to get through,” Gauff said.

“Sabalenka and Pegula are great players, and I’ve lost to them both before. But overall, I’m just going to focus on my side of the court and try to control the things I can control.”

Defending champion Sabalenka extended her winning streak in Wuhan to 20 matches with a straight-set victory over Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals on Friday.