Conceding a two-game lead appeared to be sufficient motivation for Gauff to go more aggressive, breaking her Chinese opponent for the first time to go 4-2 up. She was in command by this point with 11 winners and two aces to take a sub-half-hour set.
While the World No. 3 looked to be in control, the pressure of her service had its impact – across the match, she committed six double faults.
That did not mean that there was a shortage of serving struggles on the other side of the net, where a fifth Zhang double fault of the day handed a break to Gauff to serve for the match.
Gauff made up for her serving deficits with a clinical return game – the third seed won 87 per cent of her second return points and broke her opponent five times, sealing the win at the first match point available.
The 21-year-old will aim for a second title of the year and a third at WTA 1000 level, before heading to Riyadh for the year-end WTA Finals in November.