Coco Gauff Outlasts Qinwen Zheng in Italian Open Semifinal

After a disappointing Spring, Coco Gauff has rounded into shape at the right time of clay court season. Gauff has now advanced to her second consecutive clay court final.

The fourth seed Gauff outlasted eighth seed Qinwen Zheng in the Italian Open semifinal: 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4). Gauff won both tiebreaks in the marathon match, which ran just over 3.5 hours.

While the level of competition was at an all-time high, the play was sloppy. Gauff tallied 16 double faults and 82 unforced errors. However, she was 9/17 on break points.

Meanwhile, Zheng won points on just 46% of serves and sprayed 74 unforced errors. Worst of all, she was only 10/27 in break point opportunities.

Gauff did not hold back her feelings after winning the match point. She immediately turned around, thumped her chest, yelling "Let's go!" and "Don't play with me!"

The American superstar has reason to be excited. She improves to 24-7 and advances to her first-ever final in Rome. Gauff will meet Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday, May 17.

Zheng should also be proud of what she accomplished in Rome. The Chinese superstar made her first semifinal appearance of the year and is returning to Paris, where she won gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Regardless of the results on Saturday, Gauff will jump Iga Swiatek in the WTA Rankings and head to Roland Garros with the wind at her back and a better seed in the second Grand Slam of the year.

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