Gauff, Sabalenka and Rybakina win WTA semis, Rune & Dimitrov move into ATP Brisbane final
Gauff, the world number three, made light work of Navarro in progressing to the decider, where she will meet Elina Svitolina on Sunday.
"Definitely a good start to my 2024, Emma's an incredible player," Gauff said.
"(I wanted to be) aggressive in my serve and return; we played a practice set here before the tournament started and she was playing really well so I knew I had to be at my best if I wanted to win."
Gauff made a commanding start and held a 4-2 lead in the opening set when rain, which has fallen regularly throughout the tournament, briefly stopped play.
The 19-year-old American continued her strong showing, extending her lead upon the players' return to the court and eventually winning the first set with few concerns.
Gauff then tightened her grip when she broke her compatriot's serve in the opening game of the second set and consolidated that lead further after a Navarro miss-hit in the fifth game that gave her an unassailable lead.
Svitolina managed a lower back issue and rallied from a set down to beat China's Wang Xiyu 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
At the Brisbane International, world number four Elena Rybakina downed Czech teen Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final, where she will face Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of their Melbourne Park title clash.
Sabalenka made her Grand Slam breakthrough by lifting the trophy at Melbourne Park last year but lost to Rybakina in the Indian Wells final and Beijing quarter-finals before winning the latest chapter of their rivalry at the WTA Finals.
The Belarusian can improve her 5-2 win-loss record against Rybakina on Sunday and bag her first trophy this season ahead of her title defence at the Australian Open.
Top seed Sabalenka broke for a 3-1 lead with a desperate return from deep that drew an error from her compatriot Azarenka at the net and overcame wobbles in her next two service games to claim the opening set.
She saved two break points to clinch the ninth game of the second set and completed the win when eighth-seeded Azarenka dropped serve in the following game.
"I love matches against Elena," said Sabalenka, who is on a 15-match winning streak in Australia having also lifted the title in Adelaide last year.
"It's always high-quality ... I hope it's going to be a great battle tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it."
Top seed Holger Rune overcame Roman Safiullin 6-4, 7-6 in the semi-finals of the men's draw and will take on second seed Grigor Dimitrov in the final following the Bulgarian's 6-3, 7-5 win over Jordan Thompson.
"I think I did well to be honest. When he was hitting hard I was there with some good counter-punches," said the 20-year-old Rune, who reached his ninth tour-level final.
"I managed to close it out in two sets, which is good for the energy. I'm playing better tennis every day and physically I'm feeling great, so I'm happy."
