CoCo Vandeweghe defeats Caroline Garcia to enter Stuttgart Open final

CoCo Vandeweghe beat France’s Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final of the Stuttgart Open tennis tournament.

American CoCo Vandeweghe cruised past Caroline Garcia 6-4 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Saturday to move a step closer to her first title of the season.

CoCo Vandeweghe beat France’s Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 to reach her first career clay final at the Stuttgart Grand Prix on Saturday. (AFP)

Vandeweghe needed just 74 minutes to knock out the French world number seven for her third win over a top 10 player this week. The 26-year-old Vandeweghe beat world number one Simona Halep and U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens earlier in the event.

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Flushing Meadows semi-finalist Vandeweghe will take on the winner of the contest between fifth seed Karolina Pliskova and Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in Sunday’s final.

Asked about her success in Stuttgart on a clay surface that she has previously stated a dislike for, Vandeweghe said: “My mom told me I have some German heritage from my great grandmother so that’s probably why it’s clicking here.

“I’m definitely trying different things and enjoying my time out on the court instead of taking it too seriously. It’s chill. It’s like I’m back in California on the beach and I don’t care.”

Vandeweghe won her first break with the scores at 4-4 before serving out for the first set.

Garcia held firm up to 2-2 in the second but despite her best efforts, the sixth seed could not stop Vandeweghe from running away with the match.