Chinese tennis star Wang Qiang came up empty-handed in her quest for a first clay court title and first tournament win since 2018 in the final of the Parma Challenger on Saturday. US teenager Coco Gauff – also playing her first clay court final – beat Wang in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 at the Emilia-Romagna Open, in what was the Tianjin native’s fifth career final but first outside China. The 17-year-old made light work of her 29-year-old counterpart, winning in one hour and 14 minutes, before going on to claim the doubles crown with Caty McNally to make it a clean sweep of the silverware. The No 4 seeds eased past the No 2 seeds Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac, 6-3, 6-2. Singles No 3 seed Gauff had already proved too much for sixth seed Wang and continued her improving form on clay. Gauff had reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open last week and dropped only one set in Parma en route to a second WTA singles win. ALL EYES ON COCO @CocoGauff , the 17-year-old American clinches her second WTA singles title in Parma #EmiliaRomagnaOpen pic.twitter.com/6rjWhYJ2mM — wta (@WTA) May 22, 2021 Gauff told the media that part of her game plan was to stop Wang playing. “I think I did well in engaging every point and pushing [Wang] back,” Gauff said after her win. “I know she normally likes to be aggressive. One of the main goals for me was just to be able to push her back and set up the shots I like to hit.” China’s No 2 Wang Qiang faces Coco Gauff in first career clay final Wang had played an epic three-setter with Croatia’s Petra Martic in the quarter-finals before a gritty comeback in the semi-finals against Sloane Stephens. Despite the disappointment of losing the final, Wang has turned her 2021 around in Parma this week, having won only four matches all year before this tournament, and now heads to the French Open at the end of the month in fine form. Wang may also overtake rival Zhang Shuai as China’s No 1 player in the rankings but the wait goes on for a first tournament win since 2018.