New Delhi: Coco Gauff maintained her head-to-head dominance over Mirra Andreeva with a straight sets win on Wednesday to enter the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
American Gauff was dominant throughout her 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory en route to he advancement to the last four stage of the clay-court tournament.
Gauff improved her record against the Russian to 4-0, having earlier won at the French Open and US Open in 2023, and also in Madrid only tow weeks ago.
The 18-year-old Andreeva though was equal to Gauff for the better part of the match, both hitting quality shots in the second set tie-breaker.
Andreeva produced a sublime drop shot from an acute angle with the ball landing just behind the net to allow her to go level at 5-5 but Gauff won the last two points to close out the match.
Gauff set up a clash with the winner a battle between World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen while Jasmine Paolini takes on Peyton Stearns in the other semi-final.
Sabalenka enjoys a 6-0 head-to-head record against Qinwen and won their last encounter 6-2, 7-5 back in March in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.
Belarusian Sabalenka is in superb form with title triumphs in Miami and Madrid. She’s now aiming to claim her first career title in Rome.
Sabalenka took two hours to beat Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 7-6(8) in the fourth round but had to save 12 break points and then a set point in the second-set tiebreak before converting her third match point.
In the men’s section, Carlos Alcaraz entered the semi-finals in Rome on Wednesday with a straight sets win over Jack Draper. The World No.3 won 6-4, 6-4, having lost to the No. 5 earlier in the year.
Third seed Alcaraz faces either defending champion Alexander Zverev or local hope Lorenzo Musetti in the last four match at the Foro Italico.
The Italian Open is the last big tune-up event before the French Open, which begins on May 25.
Coco Gauff was dominant throughout her 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Mirra Andreeva en route to he advancement to the last four stage of the Italian Open. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
